The Upside of Irrationality: The Unexpected Benefits of Defying Logic at Work and at Home

The Upside of Irrationality: The Unexpected Benefits of Defying Logic at Work and at Home
Dan Ariely

Behavioral economist and New York Times bestselling author of Predictably Irrational Dan Ariely returns to offer a much-needed take on the irrational decisions that influence our dating lives, our workplace experiences, and our general behaviour, up close and personal.In The Upside of Irrationality, behavioral economist Dan Ariely will explore the many ways in which our behaviour often leads us astray in terms of our romantic relationships, our experiences in the workplace, and our temptations to cheat. Blending everyday experience with groundbreaking research, Ariely explains how expectations, emotions, social norms and other invisible, seemingly illogical forces skew our reasoning abilities.Among the topics Dan explores are:• What we think will make us happy and what really makes us happy;• How we learn to love the ones we are with;• Why online dating doesn’t work, and how we can improve on it;• Why learning more about people make us like them less;• Why large bonuses can make CEOs less productive;• How to really motivate people at work;• Why bad directions can help us;• How we fall in love with our ideas;• How we are motivated by revenge; and• What motivates us to cheat.Drawing on the same experimental methods that made Predictably Irrational such a hit, Dan will emphasize the important role that irrationality plays in our day-to-day decisionmaking—not just in our financial marketplace, but in the most hidden aspects of our lives.

The Upside of Irrationality

The Unexpected Benefits of Defying Logic at Work and at Home

International Bestselling author

Dan Ariely

Copyright (#ulink_5dfd94b2-257f-500d-86aa-6c6ac1ed8f5f)

HarperCollinsPublishers

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First published by HarperCollinsPublishers 2010

© Dan Ariely 2010

Dan Ariely asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work

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Ebook Edition © MAY 2010 ISBN: 9780007354795

Version 2016-11-25

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To my teachers, collaborators, and students, for making research fun and exciting.

And to all the participants who took part in our experiments over the years—you are the engine of this research, and I am deeply grateful for all your help.

Table of Contents

Cover Page (#ulink_ced672de-685b-5318-9457-946eaf5ab27a)

Title Page (#u8e43ccff-a412-5c1e-b2d8-dc4b826909e6)

Copyright (#u3f07580b-d949-52ea-b77b-2ceb302e306e)

Dedication (#u6dea8bee-b198-5b0c-8b0c-ce87503b8474)

INTRODUCTION Lessons from Procrastination and Medical Side Effects (#u616718e3-ac5e-52c2-a8a1-3d982de0a7b9)

Part I THE UNEXPECTED WAYS WE DEFY LOGIC AT WORK (#u9289bfb0-f8d9-5896-a788-72152af096ba)

CHAPTER 1 Paying More for Less (#u38ab0a4e-aefc-5df9-933d-0dff44283eea)

CHAPTER 2 The Meaning of Labor (#ub7da7b89-79c2-5078-b02d-2379578f9a91)

CHAPTER 3 The IKEA Effect (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER 4 The Not-Invented-Here Bias (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER 5 The Case for Revenge (#litres_trial_promo)

Part II THE UNEXPECTED WAYS WE DEFY LOGIC AT HOME (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER 6 On Adaptation (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER 7 Hot or Not? (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER 8 When a Market Fails (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER 9 On Empathy and Emotion (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER 10 The Long-Term Effects of Short-Term Emotions (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER 11 Lessons from Our Irrationalities (#litres_trial_promo)

Thanks (#litres_trial_promo)

List of Collaborators (#litres_trial_promo)

Notes (#litres_trial_promo)

Bibliography and Additional Readings (#litres_trial_promo)

Index (#litres_trial_promo)

Also by Dan Ariely (#litres_trial_promo)

About the Publisher (#litres_trial_promo)

INTRODUCTION Lessons from Procrastination and Medical Side Effects (#ulink_45f90585-147a-5fd3-8482-f74517a55559)

I don’t know about you, but I have never met anyone who never procrastinates. Delaying annoying tasks is a nearly universal problem—one that is incredibly hard to curb, no matter how hard we try to exert our willpower and self-control or how many times we resolve to reform.

Allow me to share a personal story about one way I learned to deal with my own tendency to procrastinate. Many years ago I experienced a devastating accident. A large magnesium flare exploded next to me and left 70 percent of my body covered with third-degree burns (an experience I wrote about in Predictably Irrational