Predictably Irrational, Revised and Expanded Edition: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.63 (567 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 0061353248 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 384 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2013-07-06 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
From Publishers Weekly Irrational behavior is a part of human nature, but as MIT professor Ariely has discovered in 20 years of researching behavioral economics, people tend to behave irrationally in a predictable fashion. Ariely argues that greater understanding of previously ignored or misunderstood forces (emotions, relativity and social norms) that influence our economic behavior brings a variety of opportunities for reexamining individual motivation and consumer choice, as well as economic and educational policy. All rights reserved. Ariely's intelligent, exuberant style and thought-provoking arguments make for a fascinating, eye-opening read. . (Feb.)Copyright © Reed Busines
Good for the Anecdotes Among the various books available that cover the topic of human behavior, Predictably Irrational is among the top ten (interested readers should also read Sway by Rom Brafman). It's not quite an economics book (for a much better analysis of the many failings of neoclassical economics, read Debunking Economics by Keen) and it's not quite a behavioral psychology book (read Sway) so it falls somewhere in the middle - and therein lies its main weakness.There are some very interesting anecdotes (for example, do you know why we think black pearls are valuable when originally no one wanted to buy them at any price. Its all in the mind Harish Nair Alas, I read “Thinking, Fast and Slow (TFS)” before I read this book. So, a lot of stuff in this seemed to be a repetition.So, how is this different from TFS. While both the books are on the subject of Behavioral Economics, hower, Dan has kept the topics brief and discussions to the point, so that the interest is sustained. While he would have conducted innumerable number of experiments in course of the research, he has only referred to a select few in this book. And whatever his criteria for selection was, it was pretty good, as it kept the interest of the readers on. I would prefer it over TFS. Good read The author does a good job of presenting a wide range of psychological traps and irrational tendencies to which humans fall prey. The book is well written(although somewhat wordy at times) and easy to read. There are many enlightening passages which resonated well and were profound. If anything, most people will come away much better informed about a range of human flaws after reading this book. Some of the reasons that I didn't give this book the full five stars is that the author often rehashes previous research and findings by other scholars and taylors experiments which confirm already known ideas. Also
Yet these misguided behaviors are neither random nor senseless. Why do our headaches persist after we take a one-cent aspirin but disappear when we take a fifty-cent aspirin? Why do we splurge on a lavish meal but cut coupons to save twenty-five cents on a can of soup?When it comes to making decisions in our lives, we think we're making smart, rational choices. They're systematic and predictable—making us predictably irrational.. But are we?In this newly revised and expanded edition of the groundbreaking New York Times bestseller, Dan Ariely refutes the common assumption that we behave in fundamentally rational ways. From drinking coffee to losing weight, from buying a car to choosing a romantic partner, we consistently overpay, underestimate, and procrastinate