Cognition: A Study in Mental Economy

Published on February 6, 2023

Just like a chef needs the right ingredients to create a delicious meal, cognitive scientists need an economic perspective to understand the mind. By viewing cognition as the productive application of mental resources, we can see how closely connected cognitive science and economics truly are. It’s like finding out that peanut butter and jelly were meant to be together! This collaboration allows cognitive scientists to borrow economic concepts and tools to study mental phenomena, while also giving us insights into how the modern economy works. We’re living in a world where mental production is becoming more important than physical production, and by combining the forces of cognition and economics, we can better navigate this new landscape. If you want to dive deeper into how the mind operates as an economic system, check out the full article!

Abstract
In this letter, we argue that an economic perspective on the mind has played—and should continue to play—a central role in the development of cognitive science. Viewing cognition as the productive application of mental resources puts cognitive science and economics on a common conceptual footing, paving the way for closer collaboration between the two disciplines. This will enable cognitive scientists to more readily repurpose economic concepts and analytical tools for the study of mental phenomena, while at the same time, enriching our understanding of the modern economy, which is increasingly driven by mental, rather than physical, production.

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