Dan Ariely: The Upside of Irrationality

Behavioral economist Dan Ariely discusses his new book, The Upside of Irrationality: The Unexpected Benefits of Defying Logic at Work and at Home. 

The 2008 economic crisis taught us that irrationality is an influential player in financial markets. But it is often the case that irrationality also makes it way into our daily lives and decisionmaking—in slightly different and vastly more subtle ways. In this follow-up to his New York Times bestseller Predictably Irrational, Dan Ariely shows how irrationality is an inherent part of the way we function and think, and how it affects our behavior in all areas of our lives, from our romantic relationships to our experiences in the workplace to our temptations to cheat. 

Blending everyday experience with new research into our how we actually make decisions, Ariely explains how expectations, emotions, social norms, and other invisible, seemingly illogical forces skew our reasoning abilities. Using data from original experiments, he draws invaluable conclusions about how—and why—we behave the way we do, and reflects on ways we can make ourselves and our society better.

 Dan Ariely