Zihinsel Haritalar ve Ekonomi İlişkisi | Dr.Turgay Bozoğlu | TEDxYouth@NesibeAydinKocaeli

Nesip Aydın Schools and Gaziantep Memories

• The speaker has a personal connection to Nesip Aydın schools, as their daughter attended the school from 4th to 12th grade and is now pursuing a master's degree in the Netherlands, and they are also the founding president of the Nesip Aydın sports club, which includes the women's basketball team (42s).
• The speaker has a strong emotional bond with Gaziantep, as it was their first assignment as a young accountant and they spent three months there, and although they gained weight and almost had to roll off the plane back to Ankara, they didn't return to Gaziantep for 19 years (1m17s).

Mental Maps and Economics

• The speaker prefers to use the term "mental maps" instead of "mental landscapes," which refers to how people perceive and interpret the world, and as an economist, they are interested in how mental maps relate to economics (1m37s).
• Economics is concerned with how individuals and societies allocate resources, and the speaker recalls a graph from their economics class at Mülkiye Siyasal Bilgiler Fakültesi, where the y-axis represented guns and the x-axis represented food, illustrating the trade-offs societies make in allocating resources (2m10s).
• The speaker notes that different societies prioritize different needs, such as food, shelter, health, and education, while others, like North Korea, allocate resources to armament (2m42s).
• The definition of economics is the study of how to allocate scarce resources to meet human needs, and the speaker is interested in exploring how mental maps influence economic decisions (2m49s).
• Human needs are unlimited, and people try to meet these needs with limited resources (2m55s).
• The decisions made to meet these needs are based on rational mental maps, but it is questioned whether these mental maps guide people correctly and their relationship with the economy (3m3s).

Rationality and Irrationality in Economic Decisions

• It is recalled that the Minister of Treasury and Finance stated that Turkey has no choice but to return to rationality, implying that irrational decisions can be made in the economy (3m27s).
• On a personal level, people can make irrational decisions, such as buying things that are not needed, especially when shopping in markets (3m34s).
• Women, in particular, tend to buy things they don't need, especially during discounts, and markets often place tempting products near the cash registers (3m55s).
• Many personal decisions are not rational, as seen in events like Black Friday, a shopping frenzy that originated in the United States (4m13s).

Black Friday and Cultural Influences

• Black Friday is called as such because stores would stay open late into the night, and the term "Black Friday" was not directly translated to Turkish, instead being referred to as "Kara Cuma" or "Efsane Cuma" (4m32s).
• The way people perceive the world is closely related to cultural and social norms, which also affect the economy and mental maps (4m54s).
• The economy is heavily influenced by mental maps, and it is questioned how these mental maps are formed (5m11s).

Personal Experiences and Mental Maps

• Personal experiences, such as childhood memories of playing with limited toys, can shape mental maps and influence economic decisions (5m18s).
• In some families, children are taught to take advantage of opportunities and make the most of them, sometimes leading to buying things they don't need, such as three t-shirts on sale, even if they're not necessary (6m21s).

Cultural Norms and Individual Psychology

• Two main factors influence our mental maps: cultural norms and individual psychology (6m24s).
• Some societies place a strong emphasis on saving, and individuals from those societies tend to prioritize saving, such as in Turkey, where saving is considered important (6m42s).
• However, Turkey faces the problem of insufficient capital accumulation, leading to a reliance on external resources, partly due to a lack of emphasis on saving (6m57s).

Consumption vs. Saving

• Today's capitalist society often prioritizes consumption over saving, making it challenging for individuals to save, especially with rising living costs (7m21s).
• There are two types of people when it comes to making economic decisions: those who take risks and believe they will gain more in the end, and those who avoid risks and prefer to play it safe (7m36s).

Risk-Taking and Entrepreneurship

• Some cities, like Gaziantep (Antep), have a culture of entrepreneurship and taking risks, with many successful businesspeople emerging from the city, even if it means taking on debt (8m34s).
• The city's history and cultural norms may contribute to this mindset, with some individuals from Antep stating that they take risks and make things work, even if the initial calculations don't add up (8m42s).
• A textile producer invests heavily in production, but the market is not sufficient, leading to stockpiling, and upon learning that a competitor has purchased an additional machine, the producer also buys more machines, increasing production by 60% and ultimately selling the stock at a high price and making a profit, despite the initial risk (8m57s).
• This decision-making process is influenced by various factors, including the tendency to take risks, and is not always rational, contrary to the classical economic theory that individuals make rational decisions to maximize their own benefits, which in turn maximizes societal benefit (9m30s).

Behavioral Economics and Framing

• Behavioral economics is a field that challenges this classical theory, suggesting that individuals do not always make rational decisions, and that their mental maps play a crucial role in decision-making (9m52s).
• The concept of framing is an important aspect of behavioral economics, where the way information is presented can influence an individual's perception and decision-making, as illustrated by the example of a doctor presenting the risk of an operation as a 90% chance of survival versus a 10% chance of death (10m36s).
• The speaker shares a personal experience where a doctor presented the risk of a blood transfusion for their newborn child as a 1% chance of a serious complication, which had a significant impact on their emotional response (11m3s).
• The speaker notes that the probability of a serious complication from a blood transfusion is comparable to the risk of being hit by a car while crossing the road at a traffic light (11m45s).
• The concept of framing is crucial, as it can significantly impact one's perception and decision-making, for instance, viewing a situation as a potential loss rather than a gain can alter one's attitude towards it (12m4s).

Fear of Loss and Market Manipulation

• The fear of loss plays a substantial role in decision-making, as people tend to feel more upset about losing money than they feel happy about gaining the same amount, which can lead to impulsive decisions, such as selling stocks due to fear of further losses (12m9s).
• This fear of loss can be manipulated by experienced investors, who may take advantage of small investors' impulsive decisions to buy stocks at a lower price and influence the market (12m33s).

Consumer Behavior and Time Discounting

• Consumer behavior is also influenced by various factors, including the use of red color for discount tags, which triggers the fear of missing out and encourages people to make a purchase (12m47s).
• The concept of time discounting, which refers to the tendency to value immediate rewards over future benefits, varies across cultures, with some societies, such as those in East Asia, being more patient and willing to wait for long-term gains (13m8s).
• In contrast, some cultures, such as those in Mediterranean countries, tend to prioritize short-term gains and instant gratification, which can be observed in their investment decisions and even sports (13m21s).

Social Norms and Economic Decisions

• Social norms also play a significant role in shaping economic decisions, such as the cultural expectation of tipping in certain societies, which can be seen as an irrational decision from a purely economic perspective (13m43s).
• The importance of tipping varies across cultures, with some societies, such as Canada, placing a high value on it, while others do not consider it essential (13m58s).
• These cultural norms and expectations can influence people's decisions and behaviors, often unconsciously, and are shaped by the societal norms and values they live in (14m29s).

Inflation and its Impact

• One example of how these factors can impact decision-making is the concept of inflation, which has been a persistent issue in Turkey's history, dating back to 2001 (14m49s).
• Between 2013, people experienced a period of relative economic relief, but high inflation rates were prevalent in countries like Argentina and Turkey, leading to changes in consumer behavior, such as people opting to save in foreign currencies or invest in real estate instead of their local currencies (14m52s).
• In times of economic uncertainty, societies tend to lose trust in their local currencies, and this loss of trust can be difficult to regain, as seen in the example of a journalist, Kübra Par, who spent 250,000 Syrian pounds on 4 wraps and 6 colas in Syria, highlighting the devaluation of the local currency (15m25s).
• The effects of inflation can vary across different societies, with some, like Germany, exhibiting more cautious behavior in response to price increases, whereas others, like Turkey, tend to increase consumption in anticipation of higher prices in the future (16m0s).
• The German society's behavior is influenced by their historical experiences, including the economic consequences of the Versailles Treaty and the subsequent hyperinflation that contributed to the rise of Adolf Hitler, which has led to a cultural emphasis on the importance of fiscal responsibility (17m3s).
• In contrast, Turkish society tends to continue consuming and spending during periods of high inflation, as they do not expect the economic situation to improve, whereas Germans have learned to be more cautious and reduce consumption to avoid fueling inflation (17m28s).

Mental Maps and Decision-Making

• The difference in behavior between these societies highlights the importance of understanding the psychological and cultural factors that influence economic decision-making (17m39s).
• In 1995, a couple went out for dinner in Baghdad, and their money was stolen, but instead of counting the money, the thieves weighed it, illustrating how mental maps influence decision-making in various aspects of life, including economics (17m48s).
• Mental maps play a crucial role in shaping economic decisions, such as preparing economic programs and understanding societal structures and cultural norms (18m27s).

Causes of Inflation and Societal Values

• There are three primary causes of inflation: demand, cost, and expectations, with the latter being particularly important in Turkey, where managing expectations is key to controlling inflation (18m43s).
• A society's values, such as thriftiness or consumerism, significantly impact economic decisions, and understanding these values is essential for designing effective economic policies (19m9s).

Mental Maps and Consumer Behavior

• Consumer behavior and the relationship between consumers and advertising are also influenced by mental maps, with large companies often exploiting these maps to manipulate consumer behavior (19m21s).
• The differences in mental maps between collectivist societies, such as Japan, and individualistic societies, such as the United States, affect economic decisions and consumer behavior (19m35s).

Mental Maps and Entrepreneurship

• Mental maps also influence entrepreneurship, with societies that encourage risk-taking and innovation, such as Silicon Valley, being more likely to foster successful startups (20m7s).
• In societies where entrepreneurship is discouraged, investing in new ventures can be challenging, highlighting the importance of mental maps in shaping economic decisions (20m27s).

Mental Maps and Economic Decisions

• Economic decisions are shaped by various factors, including mental maps, which can influence consumer behavior and decision-making (20m40s).
• The human brain has been coded with a mindset of scarcity for centuries, which affects decision-making when faced with limited options, such as when only three items are available to choose from (21m3s).
• The concept of mental maps is crucial in understanding how our brains work, and it is essential to update our mental maps frequently to make better decisions (21m26s).

The Importance of Mental Maps

• Mental maps serve as a guide, but individuals must take charge of creating their own path in life, as everything begins and ends in the mind (21m21s).
• A key aspect of mental maps is being aware of one's thoughts and decisions, and it is vital to approach life's challenges with a positive attitude, remembering that everything is temporary (21m33s).
• The importance of being mindful of one's thoughts and decisions is emphasized, and it is crucial to stay updated and focused to navigate life's journey effectively (21m29s).