Harper Collins India Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions

Awesome book of behavioural economics. Some key learnings have been : According to the assumptions of standard economics, all human decisions are rational and informed, motivated by an accurate concept of the worth of all goods and services and the amount of happiness (utility) all decisions are likely to produce. Under this set of assumptions, everyone in the marketplace is trying to maximize profit and striving to optimize his experiences. As a consequence, economic theory asserts that there are no free lunches—if there were any, someone would have already found them and extracted all their value. Behavioral economists, on the other hand, believe that people are susceptible to irrelevant influences from their immediate environment (which we call context effects), irrelevant emotions, shortsightedness, and other forms of irrationality (see any chapter in this book or any research paper in behavioral economics for more examples). What good news can accompany this realization? The good news is that these mistakes also provide opportunities for improvement. If we all make systematic mistakes in our decisions, then why not develop new strategies, tools, and methods to help us make better decisions and improve our overall well-being? That's exactly the meaning of free lunches from the perspective of behavioral economics—the idea that there are tools, methods, and policies that can help all of us make better decisions and as a consequence achieve what we desire. We are pawns in a game whose forces we largely fail to comprehend. We usually think of ourselves as sitting in the driver's seat, with ultimate control over the decisions we make and the direction our life takes; but, alas, this perception has more to do with our desires—with how we want to view ourselves—than with reality. Each of the chapters in this book describes a force (emotions, relativity, social norms, etc.) that influences our behavior. Although irrationality is commonplace, it does not necessarily mean that we are helpless. Once we understand when and where we may make erroneous decisions, we can try to be more vigilant, force ourselves to think differently about these decisions, or use technology to overcome our inherent shortcomings.

Good book

"Predictably Irrational" by Dan Ariely is a thought-provoking book that explores the hidden forces shaping our decisions.

Great book for economics enthusiasts.

It opened my head and filled it with lot of valuable insights. Dan Ariely way of describing human irrationality with tested experiments is an eye opener.

The book is a captivating journey into the intricacies of decision-making. Ariely introduces thought-provoking concepts that prompt you to reflect on the subtle influences shaping your choices. While some experiments may seem basic, and sample sizes are not extensive, the book serves as a valuable barometer for self-reflection. Its strength lies in encouraging us to assess our own reactions in similar scenarios, despite potential experimental limitations. "Predictably Irrational" is a simple yet intriguing read, offering a personal exploration of the predictably irrational nature of human decision-making. I would recommend the book for someone who is interered in introspection, potentially transforming the way you would perceive the factors guiding your personal choices.

Good book but Instead of reading this book one can read - Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert B. Cialdini. Which would give more insights than this book.

Predictably Irrational - Book review. GET THIS BOOK. That's it. A BRILLIANT read. Irrespective of what you do, you must read this textbook of human behaviour & how amazingly complex our minds are decisions are. A sample of what's inside: Consider an experiment on 100 students based on an old subscription model of The Economist magazine, offering: Option 1 - a web subscription for $59 Option 2 - a print subscription for $125 Option 3 - a web & print subscription for $125 16 students chose Option 1 0 students chose Option 2 (obvious!!) 84 students chose Option 3. Revenue earned = $11,444. The author then removed Option 2 (Print sub for $125) Results: 68 students chose Option 1 32 students went for Option 3Revenue earned = $8,012 What could have possibly changed their minds? It was the mere presence of THE DECOY (2nd option) that made them buy MORE expensive options in the 1st experiment & less in the 2nd experiment. The book is replete with such experiments. Also, real-life examples of human behaviour when it comes to product pricing (including 'anchoring'), buying houses, cheating, Starbucks Upsells, what Ford learned from Toyota about Car servicing and too many brilliant quotes.

"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.

El contenido es muy bueno y no aburre en ningún momento! Si te interesa conocer sobre cómo funciona la toma de decisiones y lo ilógico que llegamos a ser este libro es para ti. Solo que tal vez cómpralo a otro vendedor o editorial, ciertas páginas estaban mal impresas y dificultaba mucho la lectura.

I know nothing about economics or business and usually waste my time on various volumes of chicklit but I saw a few videos of the author Dan Ariely talking about cognitive illusions and was immediately drawn to this book. It's fascinating and written in such an engaging way. Reviewers of this book are right - it's not an academic paper and there is some generalisation. However, I think as a pop psychology book, it is necessary to be more general and a lot less specific than one would be in a research-led paper. I read a similar book called "Freakonomics" recently too but it really pales in comparison to this mainly because Ariely conducts his own experiments which give us first hand insight into his frankly ingeniously inventive methods of researching human behaviour without it being obvious to the participant. It's also written in a very humourous and self-deprecating way. The structure and language is so accessible and clear which can't be said for academic writing. I think he puts a personal perspecitve on the conclusions of all his experiments and rather than presenting this self-righteously, he gives some great, humourous examples of how he has also been susceptible to irrationality. I'm trying to write a balanced review but I can't really think of anything negative to say about this book so that's why I'm givng it five stars.

it arrived a little late, guess its because of the holiday. despite that everything is okay.