ISBN: 978-0-06-135324-6

My rating: 89/100

See Book Notes for other books I have read. If you like my notes, go buy it!

The hidden forces that shape our decisions.  

I would recommend Blink by Malcolm Gladwell if you like this book.

“Self Herding” at Starbucks, and standing in line behind yourself.  You think everyone else loves it, so you love it too.

“Price Anchoring” – the first price that makes an impression on you is the deciding factor for future purchases.

“Relativity” – given the choice between A, A-, and P, we will most often choose A.

“FREE!” caused an increase in Amazon sales everywhere but France.  “Buy this other item too and get FREE! shipping.  In France, shipping was 1 Franc, about 20 cents, and people didn’t buy the extra item because shipping cost 20 cents instead of being FREE!

Pair unpleasant tasks with pleasant ones to make them bearable.

People do their best work when given firm deadlines from an outside source.  Personal firm deadlines produce the next best work, and no deadlines the worst work ethic of all.

1985 saw a double digit savings rate in USA

1994 was about 5%

2006 fell below zero to -1%

Europeans – about 20%

Japan – about 25%

China – 50%!

“We all systematically underpredict the degree to which arousal completely negates our superego, and the way emotions can take control of our behavior.”

We tend to overvalue what we already have.  We think first about what we will lose before what might be gained.

In 2004, the total cost of all robberies in the US was $525 million, $1,300 on average for each robbery.  Every year, employee theft and fraud at the workplace is estimated at $600 billion!

MIT students performed more honorably when “primed” with a fake MIT honor system.  Before beginning a simple math test they were asked to sign under the statement: “I understand that this study falls under the MIT honor system.”  

People are much more prone to cheat when cash money is not directly involved.

When going to bars or restaurants people will often change their minds when ordering publicly to appear individualistic or to conform to the group.

Dick Thaler and Shlomo Benartzi proposed “save more tomorrow” where an employee’s contribution to savings increased each time they were given a raise.