Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions

"When everyone is talking about recession, we all feel like something has to change, even if nothing has changed for us. The media messages that are repeating doom and gloom affect every one, not just people who really have trouble ... That has a devastating effect on the economy." -- Dan Ariely, quoted in the New York Times, 12/7/08

How can people so smart (that's you and me, among others) get caught up in market bubbles, credit crises, and $5 coffees? Ariely, the Sloan Professor of Behavioral Economics at MIT, explains in "Predictably Irrational" not only why people do things that defy explanation, but why they do so consistently. Understanding that irrationality is key to making better personal and business decisions.