Question

A psychologist is considering a client's offer to clean his office in exchange for the fee. The client has a cleaning service and says that times are hard and it would be a good arrangement for him. The client feels that the psychologist should see him more often in exchange for the cleaning services. The psychologist feels that this could be overpayment. Should the psychologist continue to negotiate the fee in trade?

Answer 1

The questions deal with economic decision-making, focusing on maximizing efficiency and avoiding free-rider problems. Someone adept at cleaning should take on tasks they can do the quickest, but it can lead to imbalance and resentment when others contribute less. Likewise, a consultant should maximize earnings by focusing on their expertise instead of on inefficient tasks like growing vegetables.

Step-by-step explanation:

The subject of these questions is primarily focused on economic decision-making and trade-offs. An individual who can clean 70% faster at dishes and 10% faster with vacuuming than their slack roommates should ideally assign the task they are less efficient at to their roommates to optimize overall free time. They should take on the task of doing the dishes themselves, seeing that their relative advantage is greater in this area. However, this may lead to a potential free-rider problem where the roommates might shirk their responsibilities even more since they see that the faster individual is capable of doing a significant share of the work quickly. This can create an imbalance and feelings of resentment.

A trade-related analogy to this situation could be a consultant who earns a high hourly rate. It's more economically sensible for her to work and earn money than spending that time trying to grow vegetables, which she is not good at. She maximizes her earnings by focusing on her professional expertise and purchasing vegetables, leveraging market efficiency.