When we make decisions in life, we tend to think that we are making wise, rational choices. But this is often not the case. On the contrary, irrationality is the instinct of human beings, and it is the recessive power that truly dominates human behaviors and decision-makings. However, these irrational behaviors are neither random nor meaningless. Instead, they are systematic, predictable and controllable.

Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions is a very interesting book that makes us smarter. It gives you an idea of why people make stupid mistakes, even the catastrophic ones, why they make too many crazy choices, and lets you look at your decisions in a whole new light. In short, after reading this book, you will feel that your understanding to human behaviors has entered a new cognitive realm.

Conventional economics holds that we are rational “economic men” and that all decisions we make are wise and optimal. In real life, however, people’s actions and decisions are often irrational, even incredible, and far from perfect as traditional economists suggest. This book will forever change the way we think about the world and ourselves, make you see the light, look at the world as a behavioral economist, and from now on you will look at life in a completely different way.

There are a number of phenomena in the world that are commonplace and cannot be explained by rational economic principles. For example: Why do we waste the fancy food in a big dinner party while we obsess over a coupon for a discounted meal? What makes people borrow more than they can afford? Why is a black pearl that no one cares about worth tens of times more when placed alongside other expensive jewels? Why are people willing to accept gifts that are of no use to them, and even go to great lengths to get them? Why are people happy about volunteering to help others, but unhappy about earning money by working? Why do sexually excited people choose some extremely dangerous behaviors? Why do we often “break our promises” and fail to do many of the things we should or promise to do? Why do we overestimate ourselves? Why, when faced with multiple choices, do we lose sight of our main purpose? Why does the same aspirin work for 50 cents, but not for 5 cents? …

Behavioral economics is the answer to these questions. Behavioral economics is a combination of psychology and economics to explain human behaviors from the perspective of psychology. Its explanations to human behaviors are more subtle, complex and realistic than traditional economics. The cost-benefit principle of economics does not explain all kinds of strange phenomena mentioned above, but behavioral economics does provide a satisfactory answer.

// Table Of Contents //

• 1. The truth about relativity : why everything is relative, even when it shouldn’t be
• 2. The fallacy of supply and demand : why the price of pearls, and everything else, is up in the air
• 3. The cost of zero cost : why we often pay too much when we pay nothing
• 4. The cost of social norms : why we are happy to do things, but not when we are paid to do them
• 5. The influence of arousal : why hot is much hotter than we realize
• 6. The problem of procrastination and self-control : why we can’t make ourselves do what we want to do
• 7. The high price of ownership : why we overvalue what we have
• 8. Keeping doors open : why options distract us from our main objective
• 9. The effect of expectations : why the mind gets what it expects
• 10. The power of price : why a 50-cent aspirin can do what a penny aspirin can’t
• 11. The context of our character, part I : why we are dishonest, and what we can do about it
• 12. The context of our character, part II : why dealing with cash makes us more honest
• 13. Beer and free lunches : what is behavioral economics, and where are the free lunches?

// Download URLs //

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Predictably Irrational, Revised and Expanded Edition
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