Which researchers are linked to highlighting flaws in the homo economicus assumption?

• A. Tversky, Kahneman, and Herbert Simon
• B. Newton, Darwin, and Maxwell
• C. Einstein, Bohr, and Planck
• D. Smith, Ricardo, and Malthus

Answer: (A)

The main concept here is that the purely rational, self-interested actor who maximizes utility is an incomplete view of real decision making. Tversky and Kahneman, along with Herbert Simon, are the researchers who most clearly exposed those flaws. They showed people rely on mental shortcuts and exhibit systematic biases, and they operate under cognitive limits that lead to satisficing rather than optimal choices. This work, exemplified by prospect theory and bounded rationality, directly challenges the idea of homo economicus by illustrating how actual human behavior deviates from perfect rationality and unlimited information processing. The other options don’t fit as tightly because they come from physics or biology or classical economics, not from studies that identify how real decision makers diverge from the rational actor model.