VALUATION AND PRIORITISATION IN EVERYDAY LIFE: AN INTERDISCIPLINARY REVIEW ACROSS ECONOMICS, BIOLOGY, AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCE
Abstract
Human decision-making is fundamentally an allocation problem under conditions of scarcity and uncertainty. Individuals continuously assign value to alternatives and prioritize actions while operating with limited time, energy, and resources. These processes of valuation and prioritisation have been extensively examined across disciplines including economics, biology, psychology, and decision theory, each offering unique yet complementary perspectives. This paper presents an interdisciplinary review that integrates major theoretical contributions such as marginal utility, opportunity cost, expected utility theory, statistical value of life, insurance value, survival analysis, optimal foraging theory, life history theory, reinforcement learning, and motivational psychology.
Beyond providing a descriptive synthesis, the study critically analyzes how these diverse theoretical frameworks converge and diverge in explaining real-world decision-making. While economic theories emphasize rational optimization, biological approaches focus on survival and evolutionary fitness, and psychological models highlight bounded rationality, cognitive limitations, and adaptive learning processes.
The review identifies a consistent pattern across disciplines: individuals tend to prioritize outcomes that improve survival, reduce uncertainty, strengthen social relationships, enhance autonomy and competence, and preserve future opportunities. Material wealth and economic resources are viewed primarily as instrumental means rather than ultimate objectives. The paper concludes that human valuation is best understood as a multi-layered adaptive system shaped by evolutionary pressures, cognitive constraints, and environmental influences, providing a comprehensive framework for understanding everyday human decision-making.
Authors
Chandan Kumar, Sumit Kumar, Suman Raj, Sonali Kumari, Bittu Kumar
Institution
Noida Institute of Engineering & Technology (MCA Institute), Greater Noida, India
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