The Credit Crunch has crunched many economic theories around rational expectations and the like… perhaps more emphasis should be put on understanding psychology instead.  I would point to the rise of herd instinct, surely the main winner in terms of explaining the events of 2008. Likewise the theories of Professor Kahneman, Prospect Theory, Peak-End Rule and all that; from Keynes to Friedman to Kahneman, where economics goes research must surely follow?

Perhaps we are at the start of a ‘new wave’ in research that takes account of customer psychology – I dare to hope.  This also puts a question in my mind as to where research is going. If rationality ‘alone’ is inadequate, what research models will replace them?