prospect theory

a theory of decision making that attempts to explain how people’s decisions are influenced by their attitudes toward risk, uncertainty, loss, and gain. In general, it asserts that people are influenced by a systematic inability to evaluate probabilities correctly and in most cases are motivated more strongly by the fear of loss than by the prospect of making the equivalent gain. See anticipatory regret; regret theory. See also mental accounting. [formulated by Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky]

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Psychology term of the day

December 22nd 2024

flumazenil

n. a drug used for the emergency reversal of symptoms of benzodiazepine overdose and in anesthesia to reverse benzodiazepine-induced sedation. It acts by displacing benzodiazepine (which acts as a GABA agonist) from binding sites on the GABA receptor complex (see benzodiazepine antagonist; GABA_A receptorgabaa-receptor). Because it is a short-acting agent, multiple doses may be required. It is not effective in managing benzodiazepine dependence, because its rapid action may precipitate a sudden withdrawal syndrome, nor does it antagonize the central nervous system effects of other GABA agonists (e.g., barbiturates) or reverse their effects. U.S. trade name: Romazicon.