Expected utility, μ-σ preferences,and linear distribution classes: A further result

This article is an extension of Meyer and Sinn's results on the representation of arbitrary von Neumann-Morgenstern functions in - space when the probability distributions to be compared belong to a linear distribution class. It shows that, when absolute risk aversion decreases, stays constant, or increases not too fast, an increase in , given , increases the indifference curve slope: increased riskiness increases the required marginal compensation for risk when risk is measured by the standard deviation of wealth or income.I gratefully acknowledge useful comments by Wolfgang Buchholz, Kai Konrad, Jack Meyer, Hans Schneeweiß, Dominique Thon, and Bengt Arne Wickström.     

Psychophysical laws in risk theory

In this article specific hypotheses on the shape of a rational agent's risk preference function are derived from psychophysical laws. Weber's law is used to establish the hypothesis of constant relative risk aversion for a myopic expected-utility maximizer. Weber's law. Fechner's law and a modified version of Koopmans' preference functional are shown to generate a family of multiperiod preference functionals which are either of an additive logarithmic or a multiplicative Cobb-DougIas type. This family has very appealing implications in a world of stochastic constant returns to scale. For the actual decision the multiperiod optimizer exhibits constant relative risk aversion as does the myopic optimizer. However, with the passage of time. the degree of this risk aversion, in general, moves towards unity. Moreover, it is worth noting that the agent neither has to make the consumption decision simultaneously with the selection of an optimal risk project nor needs any information about the future except his or her own preferences.     

Caregivers as Interventionists and Trainers: Teaching Mands to Children with Developmental Disabilities

The Analysis of Verbal Behavior - We evaluated the use of behavioral skills training (BST) to train caregivers to conduct procedures commonly associated with mand training. We trained two...