Book description
Behavioral economist and New York Times bestselling author of
Predictably Irrational Dan Ariely returns to offer a much-needed take on
the irrational decisions that influence our dating lives, our workplace
experiences, and our general behaviour, up close and personal.
In The Upside of Irrationality, behavioral economist Dan Ariely will
explore the many ways in which our behaviour often leads us astray in
terms of our romantic relationships, our experiences in the workplace,
and our temptations to cheat. Blending everyday experience with
groundbreaking research, Ariely explains how expectations, emotions,
social norms and other invisible, seemingly illogical forces skew our
reasoning abilities.
Among the topics Dan explores are:
• What we think will make us happy and what really makes us happy;
• How we learn to love the ones we are with;
• Why online dating doesn't work, and how we can improve on it;
• Why learning more about people make us like them less;
• Why large bonuses can make CEOs less productive;
• How to really motivate people at work;
• Why bad directions can help us;
• How we fall in love with our ideas;
• How we are motivated by revenge; and
• What motivates us to cheat.
Drawing on the same experimental methods that made Predictably
Irrational such a hit, Dan will emphasize the important role that
irrationality plays in our day-to-day decisionmaking-not just in our
financial marketplace, but in the most hidden aspects of our lives.
Praise for Predictably Irrational:
'For anyone interested in marketing - either as a practioner or victim
- this is unmissable reading. If only more researchers could write like
this, the world would be a better place.' Financial Times Dan Ariely
is the James B. Duke Professor of Behavioral Economics at Duke
University and the New York Times bestselling author of Predictably
Irrational. Over the years, he has won numerous scientific awards and
his work has been featured in leading scholarly journals in psychology,
economics, neuroscience, medicine and business and in a variety of
popular media outlets, including the New York Times, the Wall Street
Journal, the Washington Post, the New Yorker, the Boston Globe,
Scientific American and Science. He has appeared on CNN and CNBC and is
a regular commentator on National Public Radio. He currently lives in
Durham, North Carolina with his wife and two children.
