Dan Ariely's Blog, page 66

As of today the paperback version of PI is out.

I took out the parts about the stock market, and added 2 new chapters: one about the effects of social norms, and one about the cycle distrust in marketers and markets.

Sadly I cannot distribute these digitally, but if you are every in a book store or a library (or if you think that this worth $10) ….

Irrationally yours

Dan

When a certain former New York State Attorney General became New York Governor, he pledged to "change the ethics of Albany" and make "ethics and integrity the hallmarks of [his:] administration." Sure enough, he went on to fight collar crime and corruption, reduce pollution and prosecute a couple prostitution rings. Oh, but then the New York Times disclosed that this same law-and-order Governor was bedding high-priced prostitutes. So much for changing the ethics of Albany.

Power and moral...

Jeff Monday has a unique talent of taking topics and explaining them in a simple graphical way.  here is his approach of describing intrinsic motivation.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Thanks again Jeff…

A few years ago, a marketing team from a major consumer goods company came to my lab eager to test some new pricing mechanisms using principles of behavioral economics. We decided to start by testing the allure of "free," a subject my students and I had been studying. I was excited: The company would gain insights into its customers' decision making, and we'd get useful data for our academic work. The team agreed to create multiple websites with different offers and pricing and then observe h...

Question: what are God's views on affirmative action, the death penalty and same-sex marriage? Answer: whatever you want them to be.

That's according to a recent study by Nicholas Epley, Benjamin Converse, Alexa Delbosc, George Monteleone and John Cacioppo, found that we tend to ascribe our own views to God.

Past studies have shown that when we reason about other people, we form an opinion of their views based on two sources: egocentric info (i.e., what we ourselves believe) and outside clues (...

In compliance with a federal integrity agreement, pharmaceutical giant Pfizer has just released details of its financial involvement with the medical community.

According to the New York Times, the drug maker 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.

A few other drug makers have disclosed their doctor payments in the past...

Jeff Monday has a unique talent of taking topics and explaining them in a simple graphical way.  here is his approach of describing relativity and immediate gratification

Click here to view the embedded video.

Thanks Jeff…

The heat of the moment is a powerful, dangerous thing. We all know this. If we're happy, we may be overly generous. Maybe we leave a big tip, or buy a boat. If we're irritated, we may snap. Maybe we rifle off that nasty e-mail to the boss, or punch someone. And for that fleeting second, we feel great. But the regret—and the consequences of that decision—may last years, a whole career, or even a lifetime.

At least the regret will serve us well, right? Lesson learned—maybe.

Maybe not. My friend E...

[image error]

DUKE (US)—Given a choice between spending a token to get their absolute favorite food or spending it to have a choice from a buffet of options, capuchin monkeys will opt for variety.

In fact, they'll even eat a less-preferred food from that buffet when the favorite food is on it. They choose variety for variety's sake.

The choices made by these captive-bred monkeys in an Italian research facility seem to show some innate desire to seek variety, says Dan Ariely, the James B. Duke Professor of...

A few months ago I attended a conference held by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy. One of the interesting things they noted this year was about their lunch offering.

You might be surprised to know that meat production, between raising, processing, packaging, and preserving meat uses a lot of energy. In fact, Michael Pollan, author of The Omivore's Dilemma once asserted that "A vegan in a Hummer has a lighter carbon footprint than a beef eater in a Prius" (it turns out that...