Questioning the rational expectation assumption of classical economics

Classical economics is founded on the assumption that individuals act as rational agents primarily motivated by self-interest. Within this framework, individuals are often labeled as "homoeconomicus," who are characterized by their immunity to emotional influences when making economic decisions. However, a closer examination of human behavior reveals that people frequently respond to events emotionally. In the 21st century, a collaboration between psychologists and economists led to the emergence of behavioral economics as a subfield of economics. Examples of behavioral economics include studies on the "9-ending price effect," which suggests that when individuals encounter prices ending with 9, they may perceive the product as cheap. To assess the validity of this seemingly irrational perception related to the 9-ending price effect, we employed a methodological approach that involved conducting a survey. This survey examined how individuals make purchase decisions under various price-setting scenarios.