An old Cherokee is teaching his grandson about life. “A fight is going on inside me,” he said to the boy. “It is a terrible fight between two wolves. One is evil—he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.” He continued, “The other is good—he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy,…
According to Dan Ariely's book, Predictably Irrational, we have a puzzling quirk. It’s time for a coffee break and you’ve decided to walk past Starbucks and into a local café. You spy two coffee shops next door to each other and each has a sign featuring a daily special. The first shop, The Grind, features a “steamy cappuccino with vanilla bean and cinnamon.” The other…
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You’re at the grocery store and you need to buy potatoes. When you arrive in the produce department, you see that bags of potatoes come in two sizes: Five-pound bags and ten-pound bags. The smaller bag is closer to the amount that you need and cheaper overall, but the bigger bag is cheaper by the pound and, wouldn’t you know it, it’s also on sale!…
Read More about Dan Ariely on Why the Way We Spend Our Dollars Makes No Sense
We’ve talked before about Dan Ariely’s Payoff, which tries to answer the question of what motivates people. According to Ariely and the studies he cites, motivation is best when it comes from within. When people feel engaged, important, and excited about a task, they’ll perform it to the best of their ability, regardless of any external incentives offered to them. That’s the theory, anyway, but…
Read More about Does Money Really Motivate People in the Workplace?
Swipe left, swipe right. If you're one of the millions of people looking to find love online, you've probably turned to swipe-based dating apps – and have been doing more swiping than meeting up for coffee. And Dan Ariely wants to show you why. Ariely – a behavioural economist and bestselling author – examines the tantalizing world of online dating in his book, The Upside…
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Let’s say you’re planning a vacation. You’ve narrowed your destination down to your two favorite cities and, after some searching, find three travel packages to consider: City A (free breakfast) City B (free breakfast) City B (no free breakfast) Which would you choose? Option 2 seems like the most obvious choice, doesn’t it? In fact, you probably didn’t even consider option 1, even though it’s…
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It should come as no surprise that we’re big fans of Dan Ariely’s work here at The Fabulous. His book Irrationally Yours is slightly different from his other works, as it’s not a book so much as a collection of letters from his Wall Street Journal advice column “Ask Ariely,” where he pens advice to readers on a wide variety of topics—from missing socks to…
Read More about The Ikea Effect: We Care More When We Try Harder
We love a good sale, but can you shop smart? It's easy to get lured in by those big "50% OFF" signs on store windows. Before you know it, you're rushing through the aisles and manoeuvering your way to the cash register, your shiny new credit card wedged in your palm. But are you really getting a bargain? That's what Dan Ariely, bestselling author and…
Think about your current job for a moment. Do you enjoy it? Do you find yourself excited to go to work each day, or is it something you dread? If it’s the latter, you’re not alone; according to a recent Gallup study, half of American workers feel disengaged at work, and 16 percent more actually hate their jobs. It should come as no surprise that…
Read More about Dan Ariely Discusses What Motivates People in Payoff
Honestly speaking... we are all dishonest. Think about the last time that you filed your income tax returns. Did you write off your designer shoe purchase as a business expense? Or did your family vacation magically become a business trip? Conveniently forget to report cash earnings as income? According to behavioral economist and bestselling author, Dan Ariely, everyone cheats a little, if given the opportunity.…
Read More about Increase Honesty by Decreasing Your "Fudge Factor"