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Review: Predictably Irrational

Written on September 2nd 2009, filed under Reviews with 1 comment.

Dan Ariely’s book Predictably Irrational takes us into the wonderful world of the human psyche. He takes you on a journey through dozens of experiments he and his colleagues ran. These are often small in scale, but have surprising results. We don’t always go for the most rational option; there are a lot of factors that guide us towards an irrational choice.

From the influence the price has on an experience to the way we behave when something is free. Why we cheat, and how taking a few small steps can minimize the risk. The book is full of richly told stories, and provides insight in how human behaviour can be influenced.

If you are already familiar with behavioural economics or psychology, this book will seem shallow. So don’t expect an academic book that dives deep into its material and provides detailed analysis of the experiment outcomes.

That being said all of the information pertaining to the experiments is available at the back. If you are interested to learn more, the book certainly makes it easy.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Predictably Irrational. I found it to be a very entertaining, funny and yet eye-opening book. Dan Ariely’s passion for what he does combined with the amazing way in which he tells his story make it one of my favourites.

Predictably Irrational (Amazon | Website)
Dan Ariely, released February 19, 2008

1 Comment so far

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  1. Aron - September 16th 2009 - 6:46

    HI, thank you so much for your insights into this book! I read this book a few months ago and cannot get it off my mind!

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