Haoran Wan - Projects

1. A Predictive Model of Economic Decision-Making & Aging

Challenge: Existing research on how economic choice changes with age is conflicting, largely because it fails to account for choice complexity or socioeconomic factors. My dissertation proposes and tests a novel framework to resolve these inconsistencies and build a more accurate predictive model.

Approach: I designed a two-part, large-scale online study to test two core theories: the "Buffering Hypothesis" and the "Complexity Hypothesis." Analysis of the initial dataset using hierarchical Bayesian and mixed-effects models confirmed a key finding: the effect of age on financial patience is conditional on income, resolving a key scientific debate.

Impact: This research will deliver a more nuanced, empirically-validated predictive model of aging and decision-making. The framework provides a data-driven method for segmenting populations to better predict financial and health-related behaviors in high-stakes environments.

Relevant Publications & Contributions:

Wan, H. (in progress). Age differences in the discounting of delayed, probabilistic rewards. (Doctoral Dissertation Proposal).

Wan, H., Myerson, J., Green, L., Strube, M. J, & Hale, S. (under review). Age, income, and the discounting of delayed monetary losses.

Wan, H., Myerson, J., Green, L., Strube, M. J, & Hale, S. (2024). Age-related differences in delay discounting: Income matters. Psychology and Aging, 39(6), 632. https://doi.org/10.1037/pag0000818

Wan, H. (2023). Discounting of delayed and probabilistic outcomes across the adult lifespan. (Master’s Thesis, Washington University in St. Louis).

Myerson, J., Green, L., Vanderveldt, A., & Wan, H. (in preparation). Delay-probability asymmetry in discounting: An anomaly in multi-attribute choice.

2. Optimizing Measurement Tools for Behavioral Economics

Challenge: Key measurement tools in behavioral economics faced two major barriers to impact: their scientific consistency across different versions was unverified, and their length made them inefficient for scalable online research.

Approach: I led a multi-phase research program analyzing data from over 800 participants. First, I conducted comparative psychometric analyses to validate consistency across different instruments. With this validation established, I then developed and refined shorter versions of the questionnaires, balancing brevity with predictive accuracy.

Impact: This work delivered a suite of validated tools that reduced administration time by 33% while preserving psychometric integrity. The project provides foundational clarity on key measures in the field and equips both researchers and businesses with more trustworthy, efficient instruments for measuring economic decision-making.

Relevant Publications:

Wan, H., Myerson, J., & Green, L. (under review). Brief Assessments of Delay Discounting: Two-Amount Monetary Choice and Delayed Losses Questionnaires.

Wan, H., Green, L., & Myerson, J. (2024). Delayed monetary losses: Do different procedures and discounting measures assess the same construct?. Behavioural Processes, 222, 105101.

Wan, H., Myerson, J., & Green, L. (2023). Individual differences in degree of discounting: Do different procedures and measures assess the same construct?. Behavioural Processes, 208, 104864.

3. Modeling Foundational Economic Principles in Controlled Systems

Challenge: Testing core economic theories in real-world markets is challenging due to countless confounding variables. This research program developed a controlled laboratory system (a token economy with an animal model) to isolate and precisely quantify the foundational drivers of economic behavior.

Approach: I designed experiments and applied specialized quantitative models to test core microeconomic principles. This included using demand-curve and elasticity models to analyze labor/consumption trade-offs and fitting choice data to mathematical probability models to quantify risk preference.

Impact: The models successfully replicated and quantified law-like patterns of economic choice, validating the system as a high-fidelity model for theory development. This work provides a robust, empirical framework for building behavioral forecasts from the ground up by isolating the impact of individual variables.

Relevant Publications:

Wan, H., Tan, L., & Hackenberg, T. D. (under review). Behavioral Economic Analysis of Pigeons’ Token Accumulation and Reinforcer Demand in a Laboratory-based Token Economy.

Oliveira, L., Green, L., Myerson, J., & Wan, H. (2025). Discounting of probabilistic food reinforcement by pigeons. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 124(1).

Schulingkamp, R., Wan, H., & Hackenberg, T. D. (2023). Social familiarity and reinforcement value: A behavioral-economic analysis of demand for social interaction with cagemate and non-cagemate female rats. Frontiers in Psychology, 14, 1158365.

Kirkman, C., Wan, H., & Hackenberg, T. D. (2022). A behavioral-economic analysis of demand and preference for social and food reinforcement in rats. Learning and Motivation, 77, 101780.

Wan, H., Kirkman, C. F., Jensen, G., & Hackenberg, T. D. (2021). Failure to find altruistic food sharing in rats. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 696025.