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Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely

Anchoring, false choice marketing, how getting something for free skews your purchasing choices, social context versus market context, attachment to unowned auction items as highest bidder, and how one reasons differently while aroused. Also fascinating how people will pay in order to keep options open, even if they've proven to be lower quality options (supposedly this is in order to avoid a sense of regret or loss later). In a way, it explains how corporate marketers and used car salesmen mess with your thought process. Another of those books where I say to myself, I think I've read about this before, but really I haven't. Probably because it sounds like a lot of common sense, but I've never really thought these particular issues through.

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