What does this research mean for the field?

Cognitive biases in economic behavior are not fixed constraints but rather symptoms of physiological and institutional depletion, meaning the true foundational unit of economics is the 'grounded individual' or bonded pair. Novelty: ClaimNovelty.CONTRADICTORY. Consensus alignment: ConsensusAlignment.CHALLENGES_CONSENSUS.

What question did this study set out to answer?

To formulate an integrative, neurobiologically grounded alternative to classical and behavioral economic models by defining the physiological and social substrates of the grounded individual.

September 14, 2026Open Access

The True Economic Atom: The Grounded Individual

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To formulate an integrative, neurobiologically grounded alternative to classical and behavioral economic models by defining the physiological and social substrates of the grounded individual.
Synthesized mechanistic neurobiology, behavioral economics, interpersonal neurobiology, and connective tissue physiology into an eleven-part conceptual framework.
Mapped canonical cognitive biases, including loss aversion and hyperbolic discounting, to cholinergic modulation, amygdala signaling, and prefrontal cortex resolution.
Modeled the Institutional Loop linking cognitive depletion, contingent self-worth, and self-reinforcing institutional structures.
Identifies common cognitive biases as treatable physiological symptoms rather than immutable constraints, driven by unmodulated amygdala activity and prefrontal capacity limits.
Establishes that biological regulatory load requires a two-body protocol of limbic regulation, redefining the fundamental economic unit as a bonded pair rather than an isolated agent.
Differentiates wanting and liking pathways alongside anti-reward circuitry to propose a holonic diagnostic framework for resolving systemic behavioral and institutional constraints.

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Implication

Conceptual analysis demonstrates that cognitive biases stem from physiological dysregulation, proposing the bonded pair as the foundational economic atom.

Cite This Study

Ammanuel Santa Anna (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6aa7b41e0926e14a848b3a45 https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22732191

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Implication

Conceptual analysis demonstrates that cognitive biases stem from physiological dysregulation, proposing the bonded pair as the foundational economic atom.

The True Economic Atom: The Grounded Individual

Key Points

Discussion

Implication

Cite This Study

The True Economic Atom: The Grounded Individual

Key Points

Discussion

Implication

Cite This Study

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