How the Proportion of People Who Agree to Perform a Task Depends on the Stimulus: A Theoretical Explanation of the Empirical Formula

Authors

Laxman Bokati, The University of Texas at El PasoFollow
Vladik Kreinovich, The University of Texas at El PasoFollow
Doan Thanh Ha, Banking University of Ho Chi Minh CityFollow

Publication Date

5-2020

Comments

Technical Report: UTEP-CS-20-41

Abstract

For each task, the larger the stimulus, the larger proportion of people agree to perform this task. In many economic situations, it is important to know how much stimulus we need to offer so that a sufficient proportion of the people will agree to perform the needed task. There is an empirical formula describing how this proportion increases as we increase the amount of stimulus. However, this empirical formula lacks a convincing theoretical explanation, as a result of which practitioners are somewhat reluctant to use it. In this paper, we provide a theoretical explanation for this empirical formula, thus making it more reliable -- and hence, more useable.