Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions

Why do our headaches persist after taking a one-cent aspirin but disappear when we take a fifty-cent aspirin? Why does recalling the Ten Commandments reduce our tendency to lie, even when we could not possibly be caught? Why do we splurge on a lavish meal but cut coupons to save twenty-five cents on a can of soup? When it comes to making decisions in our lives, we think we are in control. We think we are making smart, rational choices. But are we? In a series of illuminating, often surprising experiments, MIT behavioral economist Dan Ariely refutes the common assumption that we behave in fundamentally rational ways.