Linking economics with psychology an economist's view

This article deals with some mutual prejudices between economists and other social scientists. By means of a rather new instrument of research, the so-called Income Evaluation Question (IEQ). it is shown that norms with respect to income can be measured quantitatively. It is basically an attitude question. The results are used to derive equivalence scales for family size and climate differences. In the psychological field they are used to estimate the impact of past experiences and the anticipated future on present norms. In the sociological field we mention an application to derive the impact of the social reference group of an individual on the individual's norms. The examples show that research instruments from the psychologist's list of instruments may be fruitfully combined with economic model building to shed some light on central problems in the social sciences, economics included.