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Results 51–100
of 106 found.
Art @ WEF
by Dan Ariely of Predictably Irrational,
Is there symbolism of the choice of art at the world economic forum? Maybe. On the surface the world economic forum and the attendees are trying to maintain the feeling that we are over the recession and that the economic life is more or less back to what it used to be. But maybe the unconscious thoughts of the people at the world economic forum feel somewhat different ? and maybe this is the reason for this particular piece of art?
Social hacking
by Dan Ariely of Predictably Irrational,
I am deeply attracted to the process of hacking ? perhaps because I taught at MIT for a long time, or maybe because I tend to approach life with a similar problem-solving mindset. think social scientists often work in an analogous way, though (of course) with nobler intentions.
Reminding Kids
by Dan Ariely of Predictably Irrational,
It is often hard to remember to take medication, especially when you hardly feel the severity of the illness or the relief of the medication. On the other hand, no one forgets to take heartburn medication ? you?ll probably sprint for it as soon as heartburn begins to set in.
A gentler and more logical economics
by Dan Ariely of Predictably Irrational,
I value standard economics. It provides important and useful insights into human endeavors. But I also think that it is incomplete, and that accepting all economic principles on faith is ill-advised. If we?re going to try to understand human behavior and use this knowledge to design the world around us?including institutions such as taxes, education systems, and financial markets?we need to use additional tools and other disciplines, including psychology, sociology, and philosophy. Rational economics is useful, but relying on it alone is unlikely to help us maximize our long- term welfare.
Medical Gray Zones
by Dan Ariely of Predictably Irrational,
Considering Michael Jackson and his doctor Conrad Murray, I won?t argue for the physician?s innocence, but I do think we should ask ? how common is the tendency to prescribe patients what they want? Is this a singular incident, a case of a drug-pushing ?bad apple,? or could there be more general forces at play?
Rethinking Money for the New Year
by Dan Ariely of Predictably Irrational,
If we assume that our past decisions have always been sensible and reasonable then we should not scrutinize our long-term habits. After all, if we?ve done something for five years, it must be a great decision. But if we understand that long-term, repeated behaviors might reflect our habitual decision- making in the face of complex financial decisions more than they reflect what is truly best for us, we might first examine our old habits and carefully consider whether they indeed make sense or not.
Temptations and Self-Control
by Dan Ariely of Predictably Irrational,
One of the challenges of human life is what?s good for us in the long term often doesn?t seem good for us right now. Dieting, for example, is not so much fun now, but good for the future; the same goes for saving money or submitting to preventive medical tests. When we face such tradeoffs, we often focus on the short term rather than our long-terms goals, and in the process we get ourselves into trouble.
Locksmiths
by Dan Ariely of Predictably Irrational,
I recently had an interesting meeting with a locksmith. The locksmith was penalized for getting better at his profession. He was tipped better when he was an apprentice and it took him longer to pick a lock, even though he would oftentimes break the lock! Now that it takes him only a moment, his customers complain that he is overcharging and they don?t tip him. What this tells is that consumers don?t value goods and services solely by their utility, benefit from the service, but also a sense of fairness relating to how much effort was exerted.
An Irrational Guide to Gifts
by Dan Ariely of Predictably Irrational,
I think that the best gifts circumvent guilt in two key ways: by eliminating the guilt that accompanies extravagant purchases, and by reducing the guilt that comes from coupling payment with consumption. The best advice on gift-giving, therefore, is to get something that someone really wants but would feel guilty buying otherwise.
Looking for a Massage...
by Dan Ariely of Predictably Irrational,
Recent research shows how physical contact can promote trust, even among complete strangers. Participants who were physically touched by a female experimenter (on the shoulder or with a handshake) made riskier financial decisions like gambling or investing money. Being physically touched, whether with a kneading massage or a comforting pat on the shoulder, seems to encourage cooperative behavior.
The Power of Free Tattoos
by Dan Ariely of Predictably Irrational,
In many past experiments we have shown that people are often overly excited about Free (see Predictably Irrational). An interesting opportunity to further look at this behavior presented itself when a few weeks ago nightclub in New York City promoted an event with ?free tattoos,? and we just had to check it out, and see if the offer for free tattoos would tempt people to get one?
Gray Areas in Accounting
by Dan Ariely of Predictably Irrational,
This guest post by Omar Adams discusses ethical standards in the accounting professional. For example, Adams discusses cases where accountants are torn between reporting misbehaviors or minding their own business ? should they open up a can of worms and be at the center of a controversy or just take heart in the fact that they were true to the ethics of their profession? This type of case presents the 'action inaction bias' where people view their own actions as much more important than inactions.
I Pick The Seven Most Powerful New Economists
by Dan Ariely of Predictably Irrational,
Many people have contributed over the years to behavioral economics. The individuals on this list have not only changed the face of economics as we know it, but they are likely to contribute a great deal more in the years to come. Each of these individuals has tremendous creativity and insight that has enabled them to capture and explain our odd, complex, and sometimes irrational human nature. Armed with this new understanding of human behavior, and taking our human weaknesses into account, behavioral economics could help us take steps toward designing a better world.
When Firefighters Don't Fight
by Dan Ariely of Predictably Irrational,
In Obion County, Tennessee, the right to a fireman is only guaranteed to those who pay an annual $75 fire protection fee before their property lights up. When one house belonging to homeowners who had not paid the fee recently caught fire, firefighters refused to come to the rescue. This problem is related to the question of bailing out people with bad mortgages. Should we help homeowners who took mortgages that they could not afford? Would it encourage them to keep on being reckless?
Looking For a Massage...
by Dan Ariely of Predictably Irrational,
Research shows that being physically touched, whether with a kneading massage or a comforting pat on the shoulder, seems to encourage cooperative behavior. While cooperative decisions may benefit others more than ourselves (at least in terms of immediate monetary gain), they are not necessarily ill-advised. In fact, the decision-makers who gave money to an anonymous partner in a recent Claremont Graduate University experiment ultimately felt better about their choices.
Wealth Inequality in America
by Dan Ariely of Predictably Irrational,
Dan Ariely recently conducted a study in which he asked Americans to guess at the distribution of wealth in the United States, then asked them to lay out what they think would be the ideal distribution of wealth if they were to reenter society and be placed randomly in an economic class. The results suggest that Americans don't understand the true extent of disparity in the U.S., and that they want a more equitable society.
Want People to Save? Force Them
by Dan Ariely of Predictably Irrational,
Institutionally, Chile has cracked an age-old problem with annuities. By law, 11 percent of every Chilean employee's salary is automatically transferred into a retirement account. When employees retire, their savings are converted into annuities. By pooling risk, the Chilean government makes annuities an attractive business with more competition and better prices. And since everyone is forced to annuitize, the adverse selection problem that normally afflicts insurance providers simply disappears.
Online Dating: Avoiding a Bad Equilibrium
by Dan Ariely of Predictably Irrational,
In a recent experiment, Dan Ariely found that when people are free to choose what type of discussions they want to have on a first date, they often gravitate toward an equilibrium that is easy to maintain but one that no one really enjoys or benefits from. The good news, however, is that if we restrict the equilibria by sticking to a predefined set of questions, we can get people to gravitate toward behaviors that are better for everyone. More generally, this suggests that some restricted marketplaces can actually yield better outcomes than unrestricted markets.
Plagiarism and Essay Mills
by Dan Ariely of Predictably Irrational,
Essay mills are companies whose sole purpose is to generate essays for high school and college students in exchange for a fee. In a recent experiment, Dan Ariely ordered a typical college term paper from four different essay mills. Two weeks later, the papers he got back would best be described as gibberish. Two of the papers were 35-39 percent were even copied from existing works. Ariely's results suggest that students still have no other option but to actually work on their papers (or maybe get help in the old-fashioned way and copy from friends).
Sex and Smart Phones
by Dan Ariely of Predictably Irrational,
Popular online dating site OkCupid recently released some numbers users reported regarding their sex lives. One interesting correlation was between smart phone usage and number of sexual partners. Female iPhone users (at the age of 30) report having had 12.3 sexual partners, more than twice as many as women Android users. Male smart phone users show a similar jump: from 6.0 sexual partners on Android to 10 on the iPhone. A casual observer might infer a correlation between iPhone usage and sexual activity, but Ariely suggests another way to interpret the data.
Humans and the Slime Mould
by Dan Ariely of Predictably Irrational,
One of the most general principles of human decision making is that we use relativity as a way to figure out how much we value things. Relativity is not always the right strategy for determining value, but it gives us a quick and handy tool for going about the world making decisions. Over the years the same type of relative decision making that humans demonstrate has been shown in monkeys, birds, and bees, but a recent study has shown that it take place even with very simple life forms, such as slime mould.
The Dark Side of 'Productivity Enhancing Tools'
by Dan Ariely of Predictably Irrational,
Email, Facebook, and Twitter have greatly enhanced the ways we communicate. These handy modes of communication allow us to stay in touch with people all over the world without the restrictions of snail mail (too slow) or the telephone (is it too late/early to call?). As great as these communication tools are, they can also be major time-sinks. And even those of us who recognize their inefficiencies still fall into their trap. Why is this? Dan Ariely thinks it has something to do with the relationships between actions and their associated rewards.
The Password Conundrum
by Alon Nir of Predictably Irrational,
A recent cyber-attack on a major Israeli apartment-listing website, as well as Pizza Hut's local website, led to the revealing of the credentials of more than 100,000 user accounts (roughly 2 percent of internet users in the country) on shady Turkish forums. The data reveals the extent to which people fail to think creatively and incorporate even a touch of randomness into their username and password selection.
How We View People with Medical Labels
by Dan Ariely of Predictably Irrational,
In a recent online study, Dan Ariely asked participants to view a potentially funny video involving an individual who would seem to have 'issues.' Participants who were told that the girl had suffered from OCD since childhood thought she seemed more likeable, intelligent, and creative than those who were not told. But participants who were told of the girl's illness also thought that she seemed like a bigger loner and more antisocial. What this suggests is that giving individuals a disorder-label causes others viewing them to place the blame on the disorder and not on the person.
Who Cheats More?
by Dan Ariely of Predictably Irrational,
Dan Ariely provides a video of a short talk on cheating he gave on July 7 in San Francisco. While most people think that citizens of other countries cheat more than Americans do, Ariely's research has found that people from Israel, Italy, China and the U.S. all cheat about the same amount. Ariely has also found that bankers cheat twice as often as politicians do.
Behavioral Finance Lesson - Frequent Flier Points?
by Dan Ariely of Predictably Irrational,
'Medium maximization' is when people focus on near-term concrete goals (such as frequent flyer miles), and while trying to maximize these immediate and clear goals forget or discount the real reason for their actions, such as maximizing their financial outcomes. Why do people engage in medium maximizations? Because they are easy. They give people a clear direction for behavior. Just having something measurable within reach can redirect our motivation, while having such immediate and concrete goals give us a sense of progress.
Three Questions on Behavioral Economics
by Dan Ariely of Predictably Irrational,
Unlike standard economics, behavioral economics does not assume that people are rational. Instead, behavioral economists start by figuring out how people actually behave, often in a controlled lab environment, and use this as a starting point. While the Chicago economists sometimes admit that people make mistakes, they claim that people make different types of mistakes that will eventually cancel each other out in the market. Behavioral economists argue that people will often make the same mistake, and that those individual mistakes can aggregate in the market.
A Crisper Solution
by Dan Ariely of Predictably Irrational,
There are all kinds of reasons why we eat badly, but some are more fixable than others if we only look at our behavior and uncover the nuanced forces guiding our actions. Instead of throwing the bag of grapes into the dark drawer in the bottom of the fridge, for example, we can put some grapes in a tray on the top shelf with some mixed greens and pecans, ready to grab and go. The rest of the grapes can be prewashed and stamped with a homemade expiration sticker. If we make plans to eat them within a few days and mark them as such, we are more likely to stick to our goals.
Save your own life
by Dan Ariely of Predictably Irrational,
'What would you think if someone told you: Do the right thing because your life may depend on it. Or more accurately, that you better start making better decisions because it is a matter of life and death. This may sound like something an over protective parent would tell their child) but in reality it?s the way most of us should start to think about our day to day decisions and their potential to lead to harmful habits and fatal consequences.' Dan Ariely argues that ?every decision counts.?
The Seven Habits of Highly Ineffective People
by Dan Ariely of Predictably Irrational,
The thing about habits is that for good and bad they require no thinking. Sometimes, something we do 'just once' can wind up becoming a habit and a part of our activities for a longer time than we envisioned. While habits can save us time, energy and unpleasant thought, they can also easily start us down an unwholesome path. Seven of our most common irrational habits include an overemphasis on first decisions, procrastination, the planning fallacy, texting while driving, checking email too much, relativity in salary and over-optimism.
Disclosure? It's Not Good Enough
by Dan Ariely of Predictably Irrational,
Pfizer disclosed that it paid $20 million in consulting and speaking fees to 4,500 doctors in the second half of 2009. The company also shelled out $15.3 million to U.S. academic medical centers for their clinical trials. This marks the first time a company has disclosed its payments for clinical trials. As such, some may see this as a good deed on Pfizer's part, a noble step towards eliminating or reducing some of the conflicts of interest in medicine. Several studies have shown, however, that when professionals disclose their conflicts of interest, this only makes the problem worse.
A Focus on Marketing Research
by Dan Ariely of Predictably Irrational,
Businesses most often rely on small 'focus groups' to answer big questions in marketing. In doing so, they rely on the intuition of about 10-12 lay people with no relevant training, and who ultimately have no idea what they're talking about. Although statistics about how a large group of people actually behaves can tell us so much more than the intuitions of a focus group, the allure of a story is irresistible. Perhaps we should try and supplement the numbers with a story to quench our thirst for an anecdote. What we can't do is forget about the facts in favor of fairy tales.
Shaving, Squash, And My Birthday
by Dan Ariely of Predictably Irrational,
In this video, Dan Ariely discusses irrationalities surrounding sunk costs. Because he made an initial investment in a razor handle several years ago, he's willing to endure an inferior shaving experience, even though much better, newer models are now available. He also holds onto his razor blades much longer than he should. His habits regarding squash balls follow a similar pattern. His birthday resolution: Throw away the old razor, and the old squash balls.
Power and Moral Hypocrisy
by Dan Ariely of Predictably Irrational,
Power and moral hypocrisy are no strangers ? we see it all the time. Social scientists recently ran a simulation where each participant was assigned a high-power role (prime-minister) or a low-power role (civil servant). Next, the researchers presented all participants with a seemingly unrelated moral dilemma and asked participants to rate the acceptability of the act. Researchers found that compared to participants without power, powerful participants were stricter in judging other' moral transgressions but more lenient in judging their own.
Intrinsic Motivation
by Dan Ariely of Predictably Irrational,
This post features a video by Jeff Monday of the mondaydots blog. In his new book Drive, author Dan Pink distinguishes between extrinsic motivators such as strict schedules and large bonuses, and intrinsic motivators like autonomy, mastery and purpose. Employees performing jobs that require more than just basic cognition, he argues, are less productive when motivated by an extrinsic source than by an intrinsic source. The call for intrinsic motivators is thus really a call to move the employee-employer interaction from a market relationship to a social relationship.
Why Business Don't Experiment
by Dan Ariely of Predictably Irrational,
Companies pay amazing amounts of money to get answers from consultants with overdeveloped confidence in their own intuition. And yet, companies won't experiment to find evidence of the right way forward. Ariely thinks this irrational behavior stems from two sources. One is the nature of experiments themselves. As the people at the consumer goods firm pointed out, experiments require short-term losses for long-term gains. Second, there's the false sense of security that heeding experts provides. When we pay consultants, we get an answer from them and not a list of experiments to conduct.
Creating God in our Own Image
by Dan Ariely of Predictably Irrational,
Past studies have shown that when we reason about other people, we form an opinion of their views based on two sources: egocentric info - what we ourselves believe - and outside clues - what the other person has said and done, and what others have said about them. In one recent study, researchers found that there was a significant correlation between participants' views on moral issues and their estimates of God's views on the same topics. These results may suggest that God may be a blank slate onto which we project anything we choose.
Disclosure? It's Not Good Enough
by Dan Ariely of Predictably Irrational,
In compliance with a federal integrity agreement, pharmaceutical maker Pfizer released details of its financial involvement with the medical community. Several studies have shown, however, that when professionals disclose their conflicts of interest, this only makes the problem worse. This is because two things happen after disclosure: first, those hearing the disclosure don't entirely know what to make of it, and second, the discloser feels even more liberated to act in his own interest and to disregard the public good.
Relativity and Immediate Gratification
by Dan Ariely of Predictably Irrational,
This post features a video by Jeff Monday of the blog mondaydots. Just as our eyes can be tricked by optical illusions, Monday says, our minds can be tricked by cognitive illusions. We tend to measure our alternatives based on relative information. This tendency toward relativity often causes us to lose out on absolute gains by leading us into the trap of immediate gratification. In order to avoid these sorts of traps, we must establish external cognitive rulers to help measure absolute gains and losses.
The Long-Term Effects of Short-Term Emotions
by Dan Ariely of Predictably Irrational,
The heat of the moment is a powerful, dangerous thing. As research going back to Festinger's cognitive dissonance theory shows, the problem with emotional decisions is that our actions loom larger than the conditions under which the decisions were made. When we confront a situation, our mind looks for a precedent among past actions without regard to whether a decision was made in emotional or unemotional circumstances. This means we end up repeating our mistakes, even after we've cooled off.
Monkeys Like to Mix It Up
by Dan Ariely of Predictably Irrational,
New research shows that capuchin monkeys, when given a choice, will opt for a buffet of food options rather than their favorite food. They will even select less-preferred food from the buffet. The research shows the power of offering multiple choices to motivate behavior, and relates to Ariely's previous research that people will eat 43% more M&Ms when there are 10 colors in the bowl instead of seven.
3 Main Lessons of Psychology
by Dan Ariely of Predictably Irrational,
Psychology teaches us three main lessons. First, that the environment has a large, as yet unrecognized effect on our behavior; second, that out intuitions about what drives our behaviors are flawed; and third, that our emotions play a large role in our decision-making. These lessons have important implications for economics, and show us the importance of experiments and empiricism in economic research.
The Power of Defaults in How We Eat
by Dan Ariely of Predictably Irrational,
At a 2009 conference held by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, event planners decided to set the vegetarian lunch as the default meal option. Eighty percent of guests opted for the vegetarian option, compared to just 20 percent in 2007.
Squash and Short-term Thinking
by Dan Ariely of Predictably Irrational,
Exhaustion or stress can cause people to focus only on the short term and avoid the long term, and this can make them more susceptible to mistakes. Squash is a game of strategy. Players must plan several shots ahead in order to score. When squash players are out of shape, however, they tend to focus only on making the next shot.
Got My Placebo Back
by Dan Ariely of Predictably Irrational,
Dan Ariely needed a new placebo after studies showed that Airborne Effervescent Health Formula did nothing to keep him from catching an illness. A placebo will only work if you think that it is doing something. Luckily, his mother sent him a new medicine in the mail.
My Meeting with Paul Samuelson
by Dan Ariely of Predictably Irrational,
In this video, Dan Ariely of Predictably Irrational recalls a meeting he had with economist Paul Samuelson, who died on December 13, 2009. Samuelson signed four copies of his textbook for Ariely to sell under different conditions for an economic experiment.
My Take on the NY Times Pay Wall
by Dan Ariely of Predictably Irrational,
Dan Ariely says the New York Times may be able to succeed with its new online pay wall if it offers subscribers a new experience that was not available before. Online Times readers will be guided by ?anchoring,? which suggests that they will not be willing to pay more for the same things, but may be willing to pay more for different things.
Results 51–100
of 106 found.
