Final answer:
The college student experiment with quarters, $1 bills, and the choice to purchase gum, along with the George Washington University professors' experiment, explore concepts in behavioral economics, which discusses how different factors influence economic decisions.
Step-by-step explanation:
Understanding Money and Behavioral Economics
The experiment conducted with college students involving the choice between keeping four quarters or a $1 bill and the decision to keep the money or spend it on gum pertains to a field within Social Studies called behavioral economics. This field studies the effects of psychological, social, cognitive, and emotional factors on the economic decisions of individuals and institutions. The experiment is designed to examine the choices individuals make with money, testing whether different forms of currency (coin vs. bill) affect spending habits.
In a similar vein, the experiment conducted by three professors at George Washington University, where they dropped envelopes with $10 cash to see the return rate from various class types, also falls within the realm of behavioral economics. They used this method to gather data on the honesty of students in different disciplines, assessing if those studying economics would behave differently from their peers in other fields when it comes to returning found money.
When we talk about money in terms of a medium of exchange, a store of value, and a unit of account, we are dealing with fundamental concepts in economics that explain the functions of money within an economy. Money, whether in the form of coins, bills, or non-traditional items agreed upon within a community, such as bubble gum wrappers, serves these essential purposes.