Lorsque l'on prend des décisions, on groupe ensemble les gains et les pertes. La façon de choisir la formation de ces groupes, dite “ comptabilité mentale ”, influence lesdites décisions. La comptabilité mentale est un phénomène puissant et intuitivement convaincant. Cependant, jusqu'à présent, les principes psychologiques qui sous-tendent la comptabilité mentale ont retenu peu l'attention. Dans cet article, nous étudions les processus psychologiques qui constituent les “ comptes mentaux ” et qui imputent aux dits comptes les gains et les pertes enregistrés. Nous formulons les hypothèses suivantes : (a) les buts actuellement actifs créent les comptes mentaux et (b) l'attribution des coefficients des gains et des pertes dans ces comptes est proportionnelle à leur représentativité par rapport au but initial du compte mental en question. Nous passons en revue les preuves en faveur de la conception de cette comptabilité mentale dans l'esprit de la représentativité par rapport au but, et décrivons les nouvelles recherches développées pour tester ces propositions. Nous discutons également d'autres phénomènes de prise de décision, comme les coûts perdus (“ sunk costs ”) et l'escalade de l'engagement (“ entrapment ”), où la comptabilité mentale intervient. Nous pensons que la “ comptabilité mentale ” représente une stratégie d'autorégulation bénéfique, bien qu'elle puisse parfois conduire à des décisions irrationnelles.
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