Predictably irrational : the hidden forces that shape our decisions
by
 
Ariely, Dan.

Title
Predictably irrational : the hidden forces that shape our decisions

Author
Ariely, Dan.

ISBN
9780007256532

Personal Author
Ariely, Dan.

Publication Information
London : Harper, 2009.

Physical Description
xxii, 280 pages : illustrations ; 20 cm

General Note
Originally published: 2008.

Contents
Introduction : How an injury led me to irrationality and to the research described here -- Truth about relativity : why everything is relative, even when it shouldn't be -- Fallacy of supply and demand : why the price of pearls, and everything else, is up in the air -- Cost of zero cost : why we often pay too much when we pay nothing -- Cost of social norms : why we are happy to do things, but not when we are paid to do them -- Influence of arousal : why hot is much hotter than we realize -- Problem of procrastination and self-control : why we can't make ourselves do what we want to do -- High price of ownership : why we overvalue what we have -- Keeping doors open : why options distract us from our main objective -- Effect of expectations : why the mind gets what it expects -- Power of price : why a 50-cent aspirin can do what a penny aspirin can't -- Context of our character, part 1 : why we are dishonest, and what we can do about it -- Context of our character, part 2 : why dealing with cash makes us more honest -- Beer and free lunches : what is behavioral economics, and where are the free lunches? -- Bonus material added for the revised and expanded edition : reflections and anecdotes about some of the chapters -- Thoughts about the subprime mortgage crisis and its consequences.

Abstract
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.

Subject Term
Decision making.
 
Judgment.
 
Reasoning (Psychology)