The rational, utility-maximizing consumer in economic theory would never procrastinate, develop self-destructive habits, or be pressured into unquestioning acceptance of authority. Yet such behaviors occur, and an adequate behavioral theory must be able to account for them. It turns out that repeated small decisions, each of them differing only slightly from utility-maximizing behavior, can cumulatively lead to large deviations from the outcomes predicted by standard textbook economics. This article presents nearly neoclassical models of procrastination and of undue obedience to authority and suggests that such models can explain many important types of behavior, including substance abuse, inadequate savings rates, and membership in cults and gangs, among others.
