Our minds often play tricks on us. It’s human nature. Believe it or not, people are Predictably Irrational (thanks, Dan Ariely). Marketers and salespeople use these tricks to their advantage; corporations have spent billions in research learning how to exploit consumers using these tricks. Everyone should know about them. I’ve spent the last couple of years writing a series of essays on what behavioral scientists call “cognitive biases.” I’m an amateur economist, but my editor on most of these pieces was Jeff Kreisler, Dan Ariely’s co-author. Here’s a collection of links to these essays. A lot of the experiments have entertaining names and are fun to read about (like the Ikea Effect!). I hope you enjoy them.
—ESSAYS—
Loss aversion: Why we hate losing more than we like winning, and why that’s a trap
Time’s running out! You’d better read this — the scary power of scarcity
Why ‘getting attached’ costs you real money — the Endowment Effect
Hyperbolic discounting: It’s now vs. the future, and it’s not a fair fight
Groupthink and false consensus were already dangerous; then Facebook showed up
Fairness — yes, fairness — is essential to capitalism, business, and economics
‘Didn’t I just see that?’ – the frequency illusion bias, and what investors need to learn
Blown your New Year’s resolution? Don’t give up. Just move the finish line closer
Why the default option is so enticing, and how it’s used against you
The hottest business idea you’ve never heard of — ‘nudge units’
https://peoplescience.maritz.com/Articles/2018/Personal-Cost-of-Bad-Behavior
Inside the “Cult of Busy” — a special report for PeopleScience.com
Finally, data proves that worker financial anxiety is bad for employers, too
Tell the truth. You just like (or hate) Trump, don’t you? That’s life … a bunch of likes
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