The weakening of standard views of rational economic actors is currently prominent in "behavioral finance," which portrays investors as prone to systematic biases.2" For instance, the "prospect theory" put forward by Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky (1979) points to the way in which attitudes to a risky decision are affected by how the decision is framed in relation to subjectively important reference points. When psychologists confront experimental subjects with risky decisions, those subjects are typically risk averse with respect to perceived gains, but risk seeking with respect to what are seen as losses. They are prepared to "gamble" to recoup a perceived loss, but are less willing to endanger gains.

Donald MacKenzie, An Engine, Not a Camera, loc. 1199