Purchasing tendencies of individuals in the perspective of behavioral economics: Sample of Siirt University

Today's consumer, who has to make decisions by being influenced by many different factors, cannot make rational decisions. Therefore, behavioral economics, which brings a new perspective to economics, argues that consumers cannot make rational decisions and that they can only be rational in their decisions to a limited extent. In this research, the connections between economics and psychology, rationality in traditional and behavioral economics, the historical development process of behavioral economics and decision-making mechanisms, hidden errors in decision-making, factors affecting consumer behavior and consumer behavior patterns are discussed. In the application part, a survey was conducted among administrative and academic staff working at Siirt University and within the framework of behavioral economics, consumers were informed about the following when purchasing goods and services; It was examined whether purchasing decisions differ according to age, gender, education level, monthly income, number of children and profession, and in which situations they make rational and in which cases irrational decisions. As a result of the statistical analysis, it was revealed that consumers' purchasing behavior differs according to every criterion. It was concluded that consumers mostly behave irrationally and sometimes rationally.