Summary of Richard H. Thaler's Misbehaving is an introduction to behavioral economics and an account of Richard H. Thalerâs role in developing and popularizing the field. The traditional economic theory of the 1970s presumed that people made economic decisions rationally. In this economic vision, rational individualsâor Econs, as Thaler calls themâknow what they want, and they know how much they value the things they wantâŚ