by Dan Ariely
apologizing for errors in, 152
author’s personal history related to, 1–4, 166–67, 281–88
bonuses and, 48–49
leeches in, 290–91
long-term objectives and, 4–5
making decisions about, 284–88
practitioners’ received wisdom and, 289–92
preventative health care and, 251, 256
side effects and, 1–5
Meyvis, Tom, 177–80, 181n
Microsoft, 120n
mind-body duality, 194–96
Mochon, Daniel, 89, 90, 102, 303
Model T, 94
motivation:
labor-identity connection and, 55–57
loss aversion and, 32–33
magnitude of incentive and, 18–21
meaningless work and, 56–57, 63–76
overmotivation and, 19–20, 31, 36, 42–43, 46
social pressure and, 42–46
Yerkes and Dodson’s experiments with rats and, 18–20, 22, 31, 47
see also bonuses; meaning of labor
mountaineering, Loewenstein’s analysis of, 80–81
N
negative feelings, acting on, 257–64
author’s anecdote of, 258–61
cooling off vs., 257, 261, 279
effects far into future of, 262–64
regret for, 257
romantic relationships and, 277–78
negative feelings, anterior insula activity and, 266–67
Neistat brothers, 141–42
Nelson, Leif, 177–80, 181n
new houses, hedonic adaptation to, 168–69
New Yorker, 120
New York Times, 110, 116
9/11 terrorist attacks, 250, 251
Norton, Mike, 89, 90, 102, 220, 303
Not-Invented-Here (NIH) bias, 107–22
acronyms and, 120
Edison’s belief in superiority of DC electricity and, 117–19
effort expended and, 114–16
FedEx commercial and, 108–9
idiosyncratic fit and, 111–12
IKEA effect and, 109–10, 121
objective merits of ideas and, 111–12, 117
organizational cultures and, 119–21
ownership component of, 111–16
practical implications of, 121–22
in scientific research, 117
at Sony, 120–21
Twain’s essay and, 107–8, 116
world problems experiment and, 109–16
O
obesity epidemic, 8
older adults, speed dating for, 229
online dating, 215–35
improving mechanisms for, 224–30
learning from market failure of, 233–35
people reduced to searchable attributes in, 218–19, 221–22, 230
process of, 217–18
regular dating compared to, 224–25, 227–28
Scott’s story and, 222–24
shortcomings of, 220–21, 230–32, 233–35
studies on participants’ experiences with, 220–22
taking human limitations into account in design of, 230–32
virtual dating approach and, 225–30, 231
ways consumers can improve experience of, 232
Open Left, 128–29
Opposition, 154
origami experiments, 91–94, 97
with element of failure, 102–4
with first-price vs. second-price auctions, 98–99
outsourcing, 146
overvaluation:
of one’s own ideas, see Not-Invented-Here (NIH) bias
of self-made goods, see IKEA effect
P
Packing Quarters puzzle, 22–23
pain, 160–67
of battlefield vs. civilian injuries, 167
of disease vs. injury, 165–67
experiments on thresholds and tolerance for, 161–65
gender differences and, 168–69
paraplegics, hedonic adaptation of, 170
in future, foreseeing of, 160, 171
Parkinson’s disease, 254
past-based decision making, 262–64, 271–74
see also self-herding
Paulsen, Henry, 128
Pelosi, Nancy, 128
personal experiences, speaking about, 43
phone call interruption experiments, 135–39
agent-principal distinction and, 145–46
apology condition added to, 150–51
physicians:
apologizing of, 152
received wisdom and, 289–92
Pillsbury, 86
playing hard to get, 104
pleasurable experiences, slowing down adaptation to, 176–78, 179–81, 185, 186
pleasure, elicited by punishment, 124–26
Potok, Andrew, 172–74
Prelec, Dražen, 66, 259–60, 303
preventative health care, 251, 256
pride of creation and ownership:
ideas and, see Not-Invented-Here (NIH) bias
self-made goods and, see IKEA effect
procrastination, 1–5
long-term objectives vs. short-term enjoyments and, 4–5
medical side effects and, 1–5
rational economics and, 5–6
proximity to victim, empathy and, 243, 245
public policy, experimental approach to, 292–94, 295
public speaking, 42–43
punishment, 266
animals’ urge for, 126–27
pleasure elicited by, 124–26
R
“Ransom of Red Chief, The” (Henry), 98
rational economics, 5–6
trust game and, 125, 127
ultimatum game and, 266, 267
rationalization, 287
Recall Last Three Numbers game, 23, 34
relaxation, enjoyment derived from effort vs., 105–6
restaurants, revenge for bad service in, 144–45
retirement calculators, online, 233
revenge, 123–54
animals’ urge to punish and, 126–27
apologies and, 149–51, 152
desire for, in wake of financial meltdown of 2008, 128–31
opportunities for, in daily life, 139
outlets for feelings of, 153
as part of human nature, 123–26, 153
passage of time and, 151, 153
pleasure of punishment and, 124–26
success stories built on motivation for, 154
threat of, as effective enforcement mechanism, 124
revenge (cont.)
ultimatum game and, 275–76
weak and strong, 136–37
wise men’s warnings against, 151
see also customer revenge
risk taking, 188
Roll-up game, 24, 34
romantic relationships:
canoeing and, 278–79
emotional cascades and, 277–78
resilience to breakup of, 172–73
see also assortative mating; dating
Roosevelt, Franklin Delano, 295
Rwanda, genocide in, 238, 253, 255
S
SAP accounting software, 54, 77
SAT scores, scores on practice tests vs., 42
Schelling, Thomas, 246
Schkade, David, 175–76
Schmalensee, Dick, 259–60
Schweitzer, Albert, 151
scientific research, preference for one’s own ideas in, 117
Scitovsky, Tibor, 188
SeekaTreat, 59–60
self-herding, 262–64, 276
negative emotions as input for, 263–64
specific and general versions of, 271–74
ultimatum game and, 270–74
self-made goods, attachment to, see IKEA effect
senses, adaptive ability of, 158–60
“Sensuous Chocolate Truffles,” Sandra Lee’s recipe for, 87–88
serend
ipity, enjoyment heightened by, 188
“70/30 Semi-Homemade® Philosophy,” 87–88
Shapiro, Laura, 86
Shaw, Scott, 238
shoes, designing your own, 95, 96
Shore, Zachary, 117
short-term enjoyments, long-term objectives vs., 4–5
Shrek, 154
Simon game, 23, 24, 34
Sinclair, Upton, 38
Singer, Peter, 242n
Sisyphus, myth of, 69
Skinner box, 60–62
Slovic, Paul, 239–41, 246–48
Small, Deborah, 239–41, 246–48
Smith, Adam, 77–78, 79
sneakers, designing your own, 95
social contract, 128
social hierarchy, see assortative mating
social loans, 234
social pressure, 42–46
anticipatory anxiety and, 45
cockroach experiment and, 45–46
public speaking and, 42–43
“Some National Stupidities” (Twain), 107–8
Something from the Oven (Shapiro), 86
Sony, 120–21
sour grapes theory, 198–99, 200, 201, 203
speed dating:
in experiment on assortative mating and adaptation, 205–10
for older adults, 229
standard process of, 206–7
virtual dating and, 226–27
Spiller, Stephen, 109–10, 303–4
Spock-like state of mind, 231, 246, 247, 248
Stalin, Joseph, 238–39
Stanford University, 37
state of flow, 49
statistical victims, apathy toward plight of, 238–41, 242, 246, 247–49, 252–53
status quo bias, 285, 286
Stills, Stephen, 197, 211–12
stress, 38, 43, 50
bonus situations and, 31, 32–33, 36, 47, 51
“clutch” abilities and, 39–41
loss aversion and, 32–33
striatum, 126
Stringer, Sir Howard, 120
sunk cost fallacy, 287
Surowiecki, James, 120
“survivor” rhetoric, 241–42
Szent-Györgi, Albert, 248–49
T
Talmud, 255
Taylor, Frederick Winslow, 78–79
technological development:
division and meaning of labor and, 79–80
mismatch between evolution and speed of, 8–9
Teresa, Mother, 239
Tesla, Nikola, 117
texting, 7–8
while driving, 6, 7, 8
tickling oneself, 188
Tierney, John, 110
time, passage of:
hedonic adaptation and, 171–74
transience of emotions and, 257, 261, 270
vengeful feelings and, 151, 153
TiVo, 181n
Tomasello, Michael, 127
tooth drilling, adaptation to pain and, 161–62
transient experiences, happiness derived from, 187–88
trust, 127–29, 153
rebuilding of, neglected in wake of financial meltdown of 2008, 131
trust game, 125–26, 127
bailout plan from perspective of, 130
tuberculosis, 250, 251
TV commercials, 181n
Tversky, Amos, 32n
Twain, Mark, 107–8, 116, 151
U
ultimatum game, 265–77
after dissipation of original emotions, 270–71
gender differences and, 275–76
incidental emotions introduced into, 268–70
with participants in role of senders, 271–74
rational economics and, 266, 267
United Nations (UN), 255
University of Massachusetts Medical School, 152
unpredictability, enjoyment heightened by, 188
V
vacuum cleaner sounds, adaptation to, 177–79
vagueness, empathy and, 244
Vanderbilt, Cornelius, 154
Viégas, Fernanda, 225
virtual dating, 225–30, 231
explanations for success of, 227–30
speed-dating event and, 226–27
visual system, adaptive ability of, 159
vividness, empathy and, 243n, 244, 245, 254
W
Wachtel, Claire, 65
Wall Street implosion of 2008, see financial meltdown of 2008
Waxman, Henry, 128–29
Wealth of Nations, The (Smith), 77–78
Weckler, Walter, 151
Weiner, Ina, 168–69
Weisberg, Ron, 101
work, see labor
world problems experiment, 109–16
World War II, 167
writing:
blogging and, 65
deriving meaning from, 64–65
Y
yentas (matchmakers), 213
Yerkes, Robert, 18–20, 22, 31, 47
Young, Jim, 201, 203
“Yours Is a Very Bad Hotel,” 140–41, 146
Z
Zajonc, Robert, 45–46
About the Author
Dan Ariely is the James B. Duke Professor of Psychology and Behavioral Economics at Duke University, with appointments at the Fuqua School of Business, the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, the Department of Economics, and the School of Medicine. Dan earned one PhD in cognitive psychology and another PhD in business administration. His work has been featured in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, the Boston Globe, Business 2.0, Scientific American, and Science. Dan has appeared on CNN and CNBC, and is a regular commentator on American Public Media’s Marketplace. He lives in Durham, North Carolina, with his wife and two children.
www.danariely.com
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Copyright
THE UPSIDE OF IRRATIONALITY. Copyright © 2010 by Dan Ariely. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
