Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces that Shape Our Decisions Beha

Why does headache pain persist after taking an aspirin that costs 1p, but disappear after swallowing a pill that costs 50 times that amount? Why does recalling the Ten Commandments reduce our tendency to lie? Why, after extensive research on a particular car model, can a random meeting with someone who expresses a negative opinion on the car change our decision to buy? Why do we make choices contrary to our better judgement? And what exactly is "better judgement"? In this astounding book, behavioural economist Dan Ariely cuts to the heart of our strange behaviour, demonstrating how irrationality often supplants rational thought and explaining why. If the behaviours that skew our judgements were random or senseless, we'd be hard put to sort them out and make better decisions. But as the research described in this book shows our irrationalities are, in fact, systematic. People will make the same types of mistakes over and over, in a predictable manner, because the causes of these behaviours are embedded in the very structure of our minds. This is why recognising these mistakes and understanding them offers us a way to do better. And that's the aim of this book: to leave you with new knowledge of human nature derived from a wide range of scientific experiments and findings, knowledge that will help all of us make better decisions in our personal life, our business life, and in the choices we all need to make about our collective welfare.