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Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions |  | Author: Dan Ariely
Publisher: HarperCollins
Category: Book
List Price: $25.95
Buy Used: $21.24
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Seller: seattlegoodwill
Rating:  310 reviews
Sales Rank: 7795
Format: Deckle Edge
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1
Pages: 304
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.3
Dimensions (in): 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.4
ISBN: 006135323X
Dewey Decimal Number: 153.83
EAN: 9780061353239
ASIN: 006135323X
Publication Date: February 19, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
- Why do our headaches persist after taking a one-cent aspirin but disappear when we take a 50-cent aspirin?
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When it comes to making decisions in our lives, we think we're in control. We think we're making smart, rational choices. But are we? In a series of illuminating, often surprising experiments, MIT behavioral economist Dan Ariely refutes the common assumption that we behave in fundamentally rational ways. Blending everyday experience with groundbreaking research, Ariely explains how expectations, emotions, social norms, and other invisible, seemingly illogical forces skew our reasoning abilities. Not only do we make astonishingly simple mistakes every day, but we make the same types of mistakes, Ariely discovers. We consistently overpay, underestimate, and procrastinate. We fail to understand the profound effects of our emotions on what we want, and we overvalue what we already own. Yet these misguided behaviors are neither random nor senseless. They're systematic and predictable—making us predictably irrational. From drinking coffee to losing weight, from buying a car to choosing a romantic partner, Ariely explains how to break through these systematic patterns of thought to make better decisions. Predictably Irrational will change the way we interact with the world—one small decision at a time.
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 310
 Personal Irrational! February 27, 2010
J. C. Jeanty (Haiti)
"Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions" by Ariely Ariely (PI), was an interesting read, and deserves to be looked at by economist, psychologist, marketer, or just people looking to improve their selves alike. It follows the trend, set by Freakonomics, by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner, in discussion of esoteric economic concepts, but without the academese that tends to keep casual readers away. I found myself personally engrossed while reading this novel due to the parallels of irrational behavior I discovered I also exhibited and will be actively correcting. The following three I believe have sentimental value to me and I feel are genuinely worth discussing.
Zero cost irrationality as described by PI is the concept that reviews the large bias humans show towards "free." I put free in quotations as I am using the term loosely in this context as often the decision chosen is not without cost, and in relative terms, it is often not the option that held the most value per unit of the exchanging intermediary item. In fact, just a few hours before writing this brief review, I purchased three Publix cloth shopping bags that I had no intention of purchasing beforehand, but because they were buy three get one free. I can say in earnest, without that free offer, I would have completely shrugged off the Publix bag, to purchase at another time. A potential solution to this problem, derived from a specific example he mentions within the chapter, is to mentally give the "free" item a price, even one as low as one penny. This, surprisingly, nullifies the zero cost irrationality for most individuals, allowing for proper cost-benefit analysis of the additional item or offer.
Procrastination, or the giving up of long-term goals for immediate gratification, this desire for immediate satisfaction permeates particularly strongly throughout American culture. The effect of this national procrastination can be seen by abhorrently low national saving rate, or more implicitly or healthcare system that is more reactive than proactive. Though I personally am not a pure procrastinator, in fact many would consider me an extrovert, I believe that there quite a bit I still put off that I do so exactly because I fail to properly evaluate the opportunity cost of the long term benefit of said action. For example, I did a quick back of an envelope calculation of me putting of my savings to next year, rather than not starting when I begun work two years ago. This three wait has cost me over half a million dollars (Assumptions: Roth IRA, with locked six percent APR, maturing in fifty years). I have begun taking Ariely's advice, and setting hard deadlines for many things, such as this particular book review which I gave myself exactly the day after completing the book to complete, no exceptions and no excuses.
The final personal irrationality I've found plaguing my decision making has been that of `keeping doors open,' or not being able to stand the idea of closing our alternative options. My irrational in my context, has to do with maybe not a plethora of options, as emphasized within the book, but rather when I am down to two options that have to deal with something within the social sphere. Case in point, I would fret over the decision of whether I should continue to chase after a girl or letting her go, or going to a party where I would probably feel uncomfortable or not, though these examples may seem simple to an someone else, I struggled with these decisions constantly. Often than not, I found myself unable to take the choice that errs on the side of negative (deciding to stay home, or leave the girl alone) as I felt doing so eliminates a multitude of options without producing any new ones of benefit. I am curious to whether how much confidence has to do with the exact experiment presented within the book. I speculate if participants were required to self select as confident, or perhaps anchored to think of confidence, if such decisions become easier. I wonder this, since many my such decision-making gridlocks underlie a lack of self confidence, perhaps those with more of it at the time of the test may change results. In sum, Ariely's solution, as I interpret it, the cure for procrastination is really premised by self-confidence, where one sets long term goals and bravely commits to them.
The book discussed around 14 irrationalities in total across 13 chapters, each holding a slight new scope of human cognizance to gain. The three above mentioned irrationalities after a deep introspective look, I felt held the most personal utility. I genuinely I have a new lens to the world. I genuinely believe that holds the potential to enrich the perspective of most readers as well, no matter their relative amount of academic background on the subject.
 Thought-provoking, but should have been one third of its actual length February 22, 2010
Jason Rudolph (North Carolina, USA)
Thought-provoking, but should have been one third of its actual length. Repeatedly found myself saying, "OK, Dan. I get it. Next topic, please."
Nevertheless, it's guaranteed to bring new perspective to the decisions you make on a daily basis and the forces that influence those decisions. It's worth taking Ariely's advice and pausing at the end of each chapter to reflect on how it pertains to your own life.
Intriguing analysis February 21, 2010
V. Leonelli
Dan Ariely of Duke's Fuqua School of Business offers an intriguing study into the unexplainable irrational behavior of the mind. Emotion, passion, and impulsiveness can override high intelligence. As far as the behavior field, this is a fine study into decision-making. He does tend to bog down with the details, but it is a very instructive read.
What "Buyology" wanted to be. February 12, 2010
Herb Hunter (Baghdad)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
This book is an entertaining and thought provoking look at behavioral economics - related to, but much better than Buyology. Although some will quibble that the tests were not as scientific as they could have been, in my opinion, this did not take away from the overall theme of the book. One criticism I found valid was that of the author's knee-jerk reaction to socialist solutions for the ills discovered in his studies. It makes you wonder if he paid attention to his own research - why expect humans in government to be any more rational than the test subjects?
In one interesting chapter, after a few tests where the author determines that people were less likely to cheat after reading the ten commandments, he muses in bewilderment over what happened to the professional standards in so many walks of life, particularly the legal profession. Lawyers have turned into complete dishonest jerks, in spite of a code of ethics. Attorneys in America have awful reputations and the code reads as if it speaks of another line of work.
He wonders aloud what went wrong and what can be done. For this example, demographic trends offer helpful insights. When the code of ethics for lawyers was founded, the profession was made up mostly of White Anglo-Saxon Protestants, since after all that was the ethnic makeup of America as well as the source of the legal code itself. Fast forward a hundred years, and the ethnic makeup of the country has changed, radically in some areas. The legal profession went from a place were Jewish lawyers operated at the fringes to one where Jews dominate the profession. This was pointed out in Gladwell's book "Outliers," where he noted that Jews would take cases that the WASPS thought to be unsavory, unethical and bad for their reputations (mergers, in particular). This observation was seen as a positive by Gladwell. Fair enough, but could it be that the change in ethnic makeup of the legal profession is in part responsible for its current behavior? Neither author connected the dots here, so you be the judge.
Regardless of what you may make of the experiments in this book, you don't have to like the authors love of big government or his hopelessly academic and unrealistic 'solutions' to appreciate the nature of the book and its value. It is worth a read.
Never thought this would be good...but it is! February 8, 2010
JuliaJulia81 (Athens, OH)
I've read dozens of books on Psychology and every bit of its subsets... This book is actually funny! Before I knew it I was halfway into the book. It makes you think, laugh, and question. I highly recommend this book. It's easy to see why this book was on the New York Times bestseller list.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 310
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