Computationally Tractable Choice

Workshop Computational Complexity of Decision-Making 2024
Speaker(s) Modibo Camara (Stanford University)
Date Tuesday, 19 November 2024
Time 2:30pm - 3:10pm (AEST)
Abstract I incorporate computational constraints into decision theory in order to capture how cognitive limitations affect behavior. I impose an axiom of computational tractability that only rules out behaviors thought to be fundamentally hard. I use this framework to better understand common behavioral heuristics: if choices are tractable and consistent with the expected utility axioms, they are indistinguishable from choice bracketing. Then I show that a computationally-constrained decisionmaker can be objectively better off if she is willing to use heuristics that would not appear rational to an outside observer.