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    Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces that Shape Our Decisions
    Unavailable
    Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces that Shape Our Decisions
    Unavailable
    Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces that Shape Our Decisions
    Ebook349 pages5 hours

    Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces that Shape Our Decisions

    By Edgar Allan Poe

    4.5/5

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    About this ebook

    Why do smart people make irrational decisions every day? The answers will surprise you. Predictably Irrational is an intriguing, witty and utterly original look at why we all make illogical decisions.

    Why can a 50p aspirin do what a 5p aspirin can't? If an item is "free" it must be a bargain, right? Why is everything relative, even when it shouldn't be? How do our expectations influence our actual opinions and decisions?

    In this astounding book, behavioural economist Dan Ariely cuts to the heart of our strange behaviour, demonstrating how irrationality often supplants rational thought and that the reason for this is embedded in the very structure of our minds.

    Predicatably Irrational brilliantly blends everyday experiences with a series of illuminating and often surprising experiments, that will change your understanding of human behaviour. And, by recognising these patterns, Ariely shows that we can make better decisions in business, in matters of collective welfare, and in our everyday lives from drinking coffee to losing weight, buying a car to choosing a romantic partner.

    Editor's Note

    Great paradox…

    Duke psychology and behavioral economics professor Dan Ariely tackles one of humanity’s greatest paradoxes by showing that our decisions tend to be both illogical and wholly predictable given the system and situation. See where your thinking is going wrong here.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins UK
    Release dateMar 6, 2009
    ISBN9780007319923
    Author

    Edgar Allan Poe

    New York Times bestselling author Dan Ariely is the James B. Duke Professor of Behavioral Economics at Duke University, with appointments at the Fuqua School of Business, the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, and the Department of Economics. He has also held a visiting professorship at MIT’s Media Lab. He has appeared on CNN and CNBC, and is a regular commentator on National Public Radio’s Marketplace. He lives in Durham, North Carolina, with his wife and two children.

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    Reviews for Predictably Irrational

    4.5/5

    78 ratings23 reviews

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    • 5/5
      Amazing book. It really gives you a new perspective on the way we are thinking and it shows what makes us tick.
    • 3/5
      Good insights into human behaviour.A little more explanation for the case studies would have explained the point better
    • 4/5
      Insightful, just a bit unsure of how commonplace these influences happen in our day to day lives, after all college students were the samples used in these experiments.
    • 5/5
      I thought I was a rational person myself until I read this book. It reminded me of a line from Oscar Wilde' s novel where one character says that the only thing he knows about himself is how ring he is about his own nature. The books is unpredictably good.
    • 5/5
      Please make the book Be readable for all written pages
    • 3/5
      A book that makes some interesting observations about the bad choices people (repeatedly) make. Maybe because much of the material is familiar to me, but I felt like this certainly could have been condensed, although I certainly took away a few interesting tidbits. Recommended to me by a professor.
    • 3/5
      The economic concept of a rational economic man is brought into question through various studies on how we make economic options to buy or sell. I do not doubt that given the complexity of our choices today that always taking the best option is highly unlikely. Yet the market does make choices ie the rise of the I Phone at the expense of Blackberry. The studies on cheating are quite eye opening and larger than expected.
    • 4/5
      Any book that seems to predict your behaviour is both intriguing and, let's face it, a bit scary. I started this book with a measure of cynicism - everyone seems to be cashing in on the self-help style book these days. Well, I don't mind eating some humble pie - I was wrong.To start, this isn't a self-help book. It's a study of human nature. But that's not to say it doesn't offer some advice on how we can combat these 'hidden forces'. Each chapter covers an area of our 'predictable irrationality' and Ariely uses straightforward experiments to support his theories. For example, let me tell you one part of the book that applied to me.I used to pick up a coffee on the way to work two or three times a week for about £1.20. It was decent enough coffee and a nice treat. One day I passed by my local Cafe Nero. I bought a cup for £2.15. It's a bigger cup, much nicer coffee. Next time I pass I'm buy it again. Soon I'm buying it five days a week because that's become normal. I don't even think about it - it's as habitual as my three meals a day.Then I read this book and to tell the truth I felt slightly sick when I read the part of the book where Ariely describes exactly this type of scenario. I sat back and thought, "I've gone from spending £2.40 a week to £10.75". I went cold turkey and stopped my daily coffee!It's a bit of a waffly point I know but what I'm trying to highlight is that Ariely's book holds up a mirror. Think you're above irrationality? Think again. I have a friend who has now bought the book and half way through she admits to being as freaked out as me.It's well written, not too wordy, not condescending, funny in parts and I should imagine most people would be able to identify with some parts. The downside? Ariely offers some ways to rise above this 'predictable irrationality' but by the end of the book I almost felt like there was a sort of resigned 'well, we can try but we are who we are' feel. However, let's be fair, Ariely is one man and one man can only do so much.An excellent book and one I would certainly recommend but don't be surprised if it makes you look a little harder at yourself. But you never know - it might save you the £8 a week it's now saving me, so it's got to be worth it!
    • 4/5
      This was a fascinating book along the lines of Freakonomics and a very easy read. I would highly recommend it--it makes you stop and think about why you do some of the things you do. Who knew that (behavioral) economics could be so interesting?
    • 3/5
      Book is collection of behavioural experiments by the author. While book is definitely verbose can be easily trimmed to half, it's a easy quick read and shows certain interesting insights to human nature. Chapter on social norm, relative preference, price of zero and dishonesty are particularly good.
    • 4/5
      Some great research and some amazing findings about how and why we react the way we do.
    • 4/5
      Very accessible description of various experiments in micro-economics. The outcome is invariably that decisions are heavily influenced by factors that are either un-acknowledged (influence of non-monetary set-up in cheating) or not accurately accounted for (e.g. physical arousal). This is not a comment on the book itself, but these ideas have by now been so widely disseminated in popular science publications that I don't feel I have learned very much from the book that I hadn't already read about elsewhere. Maybe one thing: that much of the thinking that led to this book was triggered by a very traumatic experience, 70% third degree burns from a magnesium flare left Ariely hospitalized for many months at age 18.
    • 3/5
      Ariely's quintessential argument is that "chicago boys" classical economics fails to consider the irrationality of individual consumers, that said irrationality is actually quite predictable, and that this predictablity has far sweeping economic implications.Without wanting to repeat past reviews, my single biggest qualm with the book was the final point of Ariely's assertion - the implications of these small irrationalities to the broader economic environment. For example, consider his point that things labelled "free" attract a disproportionate reaction from the buyer (that is, a reduction in price from $4 to $0 produces greater behavioural change than a reduction from $20 to $16, even though the marginal benefit is identical). This is a fair point for the individual consumer, but "so what" for the market as a whole? Were the subprime mortgages packaged with other investments overlooked because they were percieved as "free" by buyers? Do people often fall in to deep debt because of "interest free" luxury purchases, reducing the savings rate of individuals and leading to investment bubbles? I can't answer these questions, and Ariely didn't even attempt to. As such, his point - while meaningful for individual consumers and potentially for marketers, fails to abstract to the greater economic realm.If the scope of the book is to inspire consumers to reflect upon their behaviour, the book is a superb success. However, for anyone with an academic interest in macroeconomics, the book fails to make its message relevant.
    • 5/5
      Essentially an attack on the idea that people make rational economic decisions, and when they don't the market smoothes it all out, through the medium of simple experiments that show some forms of irrationality that we're all prone to. Nicely self-deprecating.
    • 4/5
      Interesting and much better researched than Malcolm Gladwell's books, Ariely's story of how irrational most of our decisions are doesn't come across as a surprise, but it is depressing, nevertheless. As he narrates tale after tale of people making irrational decisions, you'll see yourself time and again. What is most interesting is how by varying his experiments just a little, he can produce significantly different results. Sad to think that we aren't generally honest unless we are being watched -but I'm afraid he is right. The other depressing thing is just how poor we are at gauging the extent of our irrationality, even when we understand that there are situations, such as when we are sexually aroused, when our decision-making powers are weakened. Throughout the book, Ariely's sense of humor and self-deprecation make for an engaging read (or listen in my case.)
    • 4/5
      I found many of these behavior experiments really fascinating - who knew that changing the price of a chocolate from 1 cent to free could have such a huge impact on one's decision? or that signing an honor code directly before taking a test could dramatically decrease cheating behavior? We humans are certainly an interesting bunch. Now I'd like a book that teaches me how to go against that innate response!
    • 4/5
      Unfortunately, I read this two months ago and thus don't remember much beyond enjoying it. Some overlap with Thaler/Sunstein's Nudge (that's not a bad thing). I wondered whether the FREE! phenomenon in the first part of the book is really that widespread; I don't fall for it and I'm pretty average. The discussion of social vs market norms was probably the most interesting, and inspirational, but it got unrealistically idealistic when moving into employee behavior. Ditto the Burning Man analogy -- that is not a cross-section of society. It's too specialized and self-selected a group to really apply elsewhere. Also disagreed re the ethics of placebo studies, but it was an interesting discussion regardless. He includes the Josh Bell subway experiment, which is always an interesting bit. I have a note that I found the dishonesty section weak but at 35 pages I'm not rereading to remember why.
    • 4/5
      This is a nice lead-in to further reading on behavioral economics. Ariely touches on this in his closing chapter, how much of the research that he discusses throughout the book is better studied from behavioral economics than pure rational economics. It is interesting to see how what some situations may seem call for rational decisions, the research evidence tends to show otherwise.
    • 5/5
      From a theological standpoint, this is a great look at total depravity. Uses study in behavioral economics to demonstrate how fundamentally broken humanity is, while writing with wit great insight. Broad range of important topics from consumerism to sex to child rearing. Very important book. Highly recommendable.
    • 4/5
      I enjoyed this - well worth a read. Some interesting experiments talked about in this book - particularly made me think about the rigour that's involved in trying to make sure your observations are valid - hard work!
    • 4/5
      I don't think anyone would argue with the claim that people aren't totally rational. Even in areas where we should be looking after our own interests, we don't always do so. There are probably interesting ways to look at this, and I think this book does a decent job of it. The problem is that it only does it about half of the time, and the rest, it just seems obvious.For example, things I was surprised by included how much difference it makes for something to be free, rather than just a penny, or the influence that a decoy offer can have on one's decision making process. Even the portion on the costs people pay to keep options open was enlightening. Others among the studies just seemed like the sorts of things we already knew, and they're just going ahead and proving it. So things like people thinking differently when they're very emotional than when they're not, or that foreknowledge and expectations can lead to people experiencing things differently, doesn't really come as a shock.Still, the book is fairly nice and breezily written, and Ariely's a clever guy. The experiments he comes up with are usually fairly interesting, even if the points they're proving aren't always. I'd have liked it better if he'd stuck with about half the book, and left out the more obvious bits, but it's still a good read, and it won't take you long. I'd wait for the paperback, though, if you're going to buy it.
    • 3/5
      Predictably AnecdotalBlame Malcolm Gladwell - but after Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking social psychologists of the type he featured in that book have been coming out of the woodwork to publish in the pop science market in alarming numbers figuring, reasonably, enough that there's a bit of money to be made on the side. I'm guessing royalties from articles in the International Journal of Psychology would pale in comparison. One of the latest is Dan Ariely, whose unique selling point is a horrific accident he sustained as a student Israel which left him with burns to 70% of his body. His book does what it says on the tin, by way of explaining a number of social experiments that he and his colleagues have run in the last few years, loosely themed around the observation that we don't always act as sensibly as logic would dictate. Which is fine - as you would expect, some of the examples are eyebrow raising - but it really shouldn't be news and it certainly doesn't require Dan Ariely to tell us that our liberal western societies aren't as rational as we like to think (incontrovertible proof of that, not offered in Ariel's book, being the politicians we elect and the amount of attention and money we collectively devote to cosmetics, fashion, celebrity and professional sport), especially as deeper epistemological examination reveals the idea of "rationality" is incoherent anyway. But just as some anecdotes are enlightening, the implications of others are not nearly as plain or convincing as Ariel thinks they are, and some of his experiments struck me as being particularly glib, superficial and susceptible to plenty of alternative interpretations. And what Ariel's book lacks is any further theoretical drive: OK, we re predisposed to behave in silly or odious ways - but what's your point? In what underlying way are our irrational proclivities linked? What conclusions can we draw; what can we learn; what strategies can we adopt to counteract the harmful effects of our fecklessness? Ariely implies, but doesn't say, that some sort of regulation is required to save us. But given that it was our irrational proclivities by which we arrived at these politicians (and the political institutions through which they organise themselves) I'm not sure he leaves us any better off than when we started.
    • 3/5
      I was disappointed. I realize it's nigh on impossible to present the results of dozens of experiments in a layman's introduction to the topic, but still I had the feeling all along that the author was drawing conclusions that weren't robustly supported by the evidence. Frequently he describes the results of an experiment, then follows this with "this experiment shows X", when it may well show nothing of the sort. Without knowing something about his methodology, though, I'm not able to say anything more. All in all I'd say that the book misses the mark as a book for the sophisticated layman, as it leaves too much out, or too much unexplained, to be stimulating. Assuming the various results he describes are well-supported by the evidence, they are fascinating. But I could've learned as much about them by reading wikipedia as by reading this book.