“If everyone is thinking alike, then somebody isn’t thinking.” — George S. Patton. I bet you live this almost everyday. Imagine you’re in a meeting with a lot of important people. The boss comes in, takes a seat, and starts talking about “strategic market knowledge” this and “leveraging competitive advantages” that. To you, it all [...]
Dan Ariely
In this TEDxRiodelaPlata talk Dan Ariely answers the question: what makes us feel good about our work? Is efficiency still more important than meaning? Contrary to conventional wisdom, it isn’t just money. But it’s not exactly joy either. It seems that most of us thrive by making constant progress and feeling a sense of purpose. [...]
The difference is worth understanding. In a recent slate article, K.C. Cole writes: Persuasion requires understanding. Coercion requires only power. We usually equate coercion with obvious force, but sometimes it’s far more subtle. If you want people to stop smoking, for example, you don’t need to make it illegal; you can simply make smoking expensive [...]
An awesome video from RSA Animate explaining Dan Ariely’s new book The Honest Truth About Dishonesty: How We Lie to Everyone — Especially Ourselves. Ariely asks are you more honest than a banker? Under what circumstances would you lie, or cheat, and what effect does your deception have on society at large? Human beings basically [...]
Research shows that nearly everyone cheats a little if given the opportunity. Dan Ariely, author of the new book, “The (Honest) Truth About Dishonesty,” explains why. Over the past decade or so, my colleagues and I have taken a close look at why people cheat, using a variety of experiments and looking at a panoply [...]
A new paper by Dan Ariely found offering customers the choice to downsize portions proved effective (and cost-effective for the company): Policies that mandate calorie labeling in fast-food and chain restaurants have had little or no observable impact on calorie consumption to date. In three field experiments, we tested an alternative approach: activating consumers’ self-control [...]
Behavioral economics is more appreciative of gift giving than traditional economics: Behavioral economics better understands why people (rightly, in my view) don’t want to give up the mystery, excitement and joy of gift giving. In this view, gifts aren’t irrational. It’s just that rational economists have failed to account for their genuine social utility. So [...]
