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…
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…
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…
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…
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.…
