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Abstract
Individual decision-making is a complex process influenced by psychological and philosophical factors. Hedonic psychology plays a crucial role in understanding how pleasure and pain impact choices. This field focuses on maximising pleasure and minimising pain, and is closely related to utilitarianism — an ethical theory that seeks to maximise happiness for the greatest number of people. Both approaches address concepts such as anticipated, experienced, remembered and decision utility, and their interplay can lead to decisions that, while rational from hedonic and utilitarian perspectives, can have unexpected or counterproductive consequences, as observed in substance use. Anticipated utility refers to expectations of future satisfaction, while experienced utility is the actual impact of a reward. Remembered utility is the recollection of past rewards, which can be distorted and affect future expectations. These concepts are intertwined in the decision-making process, where discrepancies between anticipated and experienced utility can lead to erroneous decisions. Furthermore, utilitarianism differs from Kantian ethics in that it values the consequences of actions in order to maximise overall happiness. Drug consumption illustrates how expectations can differ from actual experiences, leading to irrational decisions based on an overestimation of anticipated utility. Hedonic psychology and utilitarianism provide valuable insights into such decisions and could inform public health policies better by considering both subjective experiences and objective factors that influence substance use.
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