Books : Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions

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by: Dan Ariely

: Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions

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Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 153.83
EAN: 9780061353239
Format: Roughcut
ISBN: 006135323X
Label: HarperCollins
Manufacturer: HarperCollins
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 304
Publication Date: February 19, 2008
Publisher: HarperCollins
Release Date: February 19, 2008
Sales Rank: 109
Studio: HarperCollins



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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.





Customer Reviews
Average Rating: out of 5 stars

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars - Well written, can't put it down!
One of the best books I've read. Easy to relate to whether you're a marketing professional, or just the average consumer. The patterns are true and the book does a great job illustrating the research and coming up with lots of great real world examples.

I pulled off the expectations stunt with a friend right after reading the book. He came over and wanted some scotch on the rocks. I poured it, handed to him, and he asked what it was. Told him it was 21-year Glenlivet (does that even exist?). He drank nearly the whole thing commenting on it's smoothness, taste, etc. Then I went into talking to him about this book, especially the expectations chapter. Tee'd it up perfectly when I told him he had actually just been drinking J&B Scotch from the 1.5 liter bottle. All of a sudden he wasn't so thrilled with the taste. Made some comments about how it was off a litte. Sure!

Anyhow, great book. I plan on reading again and mapping out how it plays out in my life. at the very least I will use it to convince my wife that the entry level Porsche Cayenne is perfectly fine for us and she doesn't need to get the Cayenne S or GTS.

Shalom!


Rating: 5 out of 5 stars - Amazing wouldn't begin to describe this book
At 270 pages (including TOC, Indices etc), this book is packed with an absolutely mindblowing amount of insight. I say that b/c most of the things described are things most of us seldom if ever consider. Yet they are far from trivial. All in all, this is about the most excellent book I've read. It's interesting, relevant, compelling and important. Each chapter made me rethink things about my life that to date, have been axiomatic as far as I was concerned - and all the changes are for the better. Dan Arielly is truly an admirable and amazing human being and this books contains 270 pages that shows how utterly brilliant he is

I don't think I could find anything to complain about w/ this book, hence the 5 star rating.

The strengths:
-It's very easy to read. I've read it several times and think about it frequently. I started reading the book at 10:30 PM one night and had it finished by 2:30 and I'm no speed reader (not to mention I stopped frequently to think about what I was reading)
-It's thorough. Only once did I think "Yah but he didn't consider this" (It was in chapter one and my suspicion was not only incorrect, it actually supported his contention).
-It is interesting. Like I said, I couldn't put it down and provides food for thought like nothing I've read in a long time
-It's helpful - learning why we do counterproductive things and how to change is something everyone can benefit from. I challenge anyone to read chapter 1 and say they haven't frequently made dumb decisions b/c of relativity
-It makes you think. And think, and think and think. His optimism and passion for the subject matter is infectuous, yet not once did I feel like he was trying to hard sell me on anything, preach or anything other than just express his views.

The book starts out with a story about a tragic situation that happened to the author and how he handled it. It becomes readily evident that the author is a true humanitarian and cares deeply about making life better for people. It also exudes an optimism that's really inspiring - yet does so completely indirectly and completely effectively.

Chapter 1 is IMHO, the most compelling, mainly b/c it made me realize how often I did counterproductive things b/c of this phenomenon (and worse yet, when I did them I frequently thought I was doing the right thing). If you've ever had a feeling like you're doing the right thing but getting consistently opposite results than you'd expect, it'll be particularly insightful. In my case, I realized how insanely "pound foolish" I am even though I worked very hard to be "penny wise". After all that effort I'd still have very little to show for it and now I see clear as day why that was.

The next chapter discusses irrationality of markets. So much of what we learn in Econ is based on rational decisions and this really introduces so much to explain why 'efficient market theory' explains a lot but never works quite perfectly.

The 3rd chapter, The Cost of Zero Cost will resonate with any American person to an extent that's hard to describe. Not only did I notice how frequently marketers use this technique, but realized that it's the key to just about every Infomercial's success.

The next chapter, The Cost of Social Norms is really cool but it's much different than the others in that we all know we do weird things when it comes to family and customs. It was a lot easier to accept b/c I already knew we did this - but not to this degree

Following is The influence of arousal. All I can say is YEP

Then comes Procrastination and Self-control. Personally I'm not sure i experienced this phenemenon very much but certainly know people who fit this category to a T. The implications for bosses is huge though, as well as HR departments and educators

Next is the High Price of Ownership. This is just so dead on it was like getting slugged over the head - I see this all the time, constantly and never once considered why it was. Now I know

Following is Chapter 8 - Keeping Doors open "Why Options distract us from our Main Objective" - The title says it all

Chapter 9 - The Effect of Expectations was very intuitive although something I was very familiar with b/c of my background. Makes me wish I could sell a product generically called Placebo - I could market it as a for so many different ailments I'd be rich - before the FDA and FTC locked me up.

Chapter 10 - The Power of Price - To say I felt "Dumb" after reading this chapter would be a huge understatement. But the good news is that my days of being a sucker are over and yours will be too after reading this chapter.

The next two chapters deal w/ the Context of our character. I could probably write a small book on these two chapters - they are *that* insightful and I can promise you the way you think about Character/Ethics/Morality etc will change (although Chapter 5 on arousal will have a big impact on you too)

It concludes with Beer and Free lunches which was a perfect end to a superb book


Rating: 5 out of 5 stars - Worth $700 Billion, at least...
Predictably Irrational is fascinating; Predictably Irrational is informative; and Predictably Irrational is important. It will raise your awareness of all the cognitive glitches that make us do really stupid things-- even if we are otherwise really smart (or at least think we are...) Its fundamental principles have been discussed in other reviews, so I will hold back from repeating them, but make no mistake, they are worth reading for yourself. I wish that this book were not only included among standard economic curricula, but standard life curricula as well. Our current economic mess illustrates all too well the hazards of ignoring our inner idiots; Dr. Ariely's book is the 50-cent aspirin that may just help prevent such future headaches from haunting our futures. Buy it. Read it. Learn from it. And profit by it. We may all be a little crazy, but that doesn't mean we need to act like we are.


Rating: 5 out of 5 stars - Get a tremendous ROI with this book!
One of the most incite raising books I've ever read. I bought copies for my sons, boss, and co-workers. It will pay back in greenbacks.


Rating: 4 out of 5 stars - Very interesting if you can separate wheat from chaff.
It is hard to design experiments that reveal something that hasn't been explored before, and to do it in the field that interests almost everybody. It is even harder to know your limitations, and to stay within your field of competence. Especially if your name is Dan Ariely.

The book describes a good number of experiments which demonstrate irrational behaviour of humans in a variety of situations. Not all are eye-opening, especially if you know SOME behavioural psychology, but overwhelming majority are curious at the very least. If nothing else, you will chuckle at students who prefer the "MIT brew" (beer + balsamic vinegar) over beer by a wide margin UNLESS they are told the ingredients, and patients who are cured by a placebo, provided they are told it is EXPENSIVE.

Unfortunately, the author is not satisfied with simply summarising his experiments and letting the reader draw the conclusions. He offers his own, and they range from slightly overreaching to wildly speculative. It is somewhat forgivable that Mr. Ariely thinks that even the most limited of his experiments reveal something profoundly deep about human nature. But it gets outright silly when he offers his opinion, in the authoritative tone of an expert, in the matters of economics and public policy, as he reveals his total ignorance in both subjects.

I still recommend this book to almost anyone with an interest in popular psychology. At the end of the day, there is a lot of all of remarkable information to digest, and the author's hubris will be just a small annoyance to a smart reader.

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