--- product_id: 286416 title: "Predictably Irrational, Revised and Expanded Edition: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions" price: "£14.53" currency: GBP in_stock: true reviews_count: 13 url: https://www.desertcart.co.uk/products/286416-predictably-irrational-revised-and-expanded-edition-the-hidden-forces-that store_origin: GB region: United Kingdom --- # Top 50 in Cognitive Psychology 380 pages of deep insights 14 cognitive biases explored Predictably Irrational, Revised and Expanded Edition: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions **Price:** £14.53 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Summary > 🧠 Decode your mind’s quirks before your competition does! ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Predictably Irrational, Revised and Expanded Edition: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions - **How much does it cost?** £14.53 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.co.uk](https://www.desertcart.co.uk/products/286416-predictably-irrational-revised-and-expanded-edition-the-hidden-forces-that) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Key Features - • **Join a Community of Thinkers:** Join thousands of readers reshaping how they think about choices. - • **Unlock Hidden Decision Traps:** Discover why even smart people make irrational choices daily. - • **Boost Your Decision-Making IQ:** Learn to recognize and overcome biases in business and life. - • **Real-Life Experiments & Stories:** Engaging experiments that reveal surprising human behaviors. - • **Behavioral Economics Made Accessible:** Complex theories explained without the academic jargon. ## Overview Predictably Irrational, Revised and Expanded Edition by Dan Ariely is a 380-page paperback that dives into 14 key cognitive biases shaping our decisions. Ranked in the top 50 for Cognitive Psychology books, it blends behavioral economics with engaging experiments to reveal why humans often act against their own best interests. This edition offers fresh insights and practical advice to improve decision-making in business, relationships, and everyday life, making it a must-read for professionals eager to outthink the crowd. ## Description Why do our headaches persist after we take a one-cent aspirin but disappear when we take a fifty-cent aspirin? Why do we splurge on a lavish meal but cut coupons to save twenty-five cents on a can of soup? When it comes to making decisions in our lives, we think we're making smart, rational choices. But are we? In this newly revised and expanded edition of the groundbreaking New York Times bestseller, Dan Ariely refutes the common assumption that we behave in fundamentally rational ways. From drinking coffee to losing weight, from buying a car to choosing a romantic partner, we consistently overpay, underestimate, and procrastinate. Yet these misguided behaviors are neither random nor senseless. They're systematic and predictable—making us predictably irrational. Review: Brilliantly Irrational! - I have not written any product reviews on desertcart, but I was forced into writing one because of my sincere admiration and new-found respect for Prof. Dan Ariely. I was introduced to the science of Behavioral Economics and the irrational decisions people make in their lives. The author, through his experiments, has an uncanny knack of explaining all the profound concepts in a simple and entertaining manner. The contents in this book will quite literally open your eyes and make you wonder how people are living in this so-called idealistic world of rational decision making. Some of the key ideas presented in this book are: -> How humans perceive value - "not in absolute terms, but one with respect to another," and this is how companies and marketers deceive people with "seemingly attractive" offers that you cannot resist. -> Market forces of supply and demand only apply to rational people - in the real world, companies exploit people's irrationality and influence prices and demand. -> The power of FREE - People are, in essence, losing some other resource in trying to procure FREE items. -> The wonderful distinction of market and social norms, and why and how they cannot coexist. He also explains how companies can motivate their employees using social benefits, which are cheaper and stronger than financial incentives. -> As long as money is not involved, we are caring social animals. -> Why people exhibit different behaviors when they are "normal" (cold state) and when they are "aroused" (hot state). Learning to bridge the gap between the two extreme states is very important and will help you avoid making errors or bad decisions that you will forever regret. -> The high price of ownership reveals three irrational quirks in human behavior - we are deeply attached to what we have; we often focus on what we may lose (also called Loss Aversion); we assume other people (or buyers of our goods) to also value the goods in the same manner as we do. -> People's expectations can cloud their thinking, and they use this as a marketing strategy to influence their friends' tastes and preferences. -> Price is so powerful that it can drive the Placebo Effect - the more the price, the more the utility you derive from the product. This phenomenon was explained with Aspirin - why a 50 cent Aspirin can do what a penny Aspirin can't. -> Trust is an important public resource and a necessary lubricant of the economy. A few bad players in the market can completely erode it. -> Why even the most morally upright person can be susceptible to making small crimes that hardly matter. However, a contemplation of moral behavior or a religious code of law before doing any action can greatly reduce the likelihood of people committing these petty crimes. -> The idea of FREE LUNCHES in behavior economics; the science of economics should be modified to account for how people actually behave instead of how they should behave in society. These are just some of the important principles explained in the book through experiments and startling revelations. It is easy to read and highly entertaining. However, there is one minor flaw in this book - the concepts and results described are all based on experiments performed on American college students or the western society, which may not be applicable to the more conservative societies in the world. BOTTOM LINE - Predictably Irrational is a wonderful book with new insights into irrational behavior in people. But for the one criticism, I believe this can change the way people think about economics, and can result in newer norms that account for our actual and not ideal behavior. PS: For people interested in reading more about behavior and cognitive sciences, I have the following book suggestions: 1. "The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business" by Charles Duhigg. 2. "Thinking, Fast and Slow" by Daniel Kahnem. 3. "The Upside of Irrationality" by Dan Ariely. 4. "The Signal and the Noise: Why So Many Predictions Fail -- but Some Don't" by Nate Silver Review: Interesting Stuff, but runs a little long - This was a fun book to read. It has been a while since I took any economics courses, and I forgot how much of economic theory is based on the assumption that humans are rational beings, always acting in their best interests. Dan Ariely does a marvelous job of shooting holes through that assumption. === The Good Stuff === * The book is really an overview of behavioral economics- the study of how supposedly rational people make decisions. Ariely recounts numerous experiments in which people are given a challenge and react in ways which would seem to be exactly opposite of their self-interest. As an example, if you allow people the chance to buy $1 chocolate bars for 10 cents, they will purchase quite a few. But if you offer then 90 cent chocolates for free, they will only take one or two. If experiments like this interest you, you will enjoy the book. * In each case, Ariely describes a simple experiment, and provides a theory as to what he thinks happened. I have no idea how many of his theories are considered valid, or would stand up to peer review. But for a quick read to just amuse yourself with human nature, the explanations suffice. * Ariely picks a nice assortment of topics-everything from placebos to "irrational" pricing and honestly and ethics. The experiments are clever and "fun", although I doubt they would stand up to serious scientific scrutiny. Still, they were fun to read, and I will probably try some of them on my friends. === The Not So Good Stuff === * While Ariely writes well, he is not the most engaging author you will read. The text comes across a little dry, and by the final chapters, I was ready for the book to end. * While the experiments, or at least their explanations were no doubt simplified for the book, in some cases they open more questions than they answer. Ariely offers one explanation and theory for the observed results, but makes no attempts to analyze deeper, or provide alternative explanations. * Without seeing more information, it is hard to tell if the experiments and their conclusions are statistically valid. In some cases it seems that they might not be, although given Ariely's background, it would seem he would know enough to assure the experiments validity. * Finally, there is no real theme or common thread through the work. Rather it is more like a series of short lab reports. The result is that the book can become tedious, and that it is tough to remember some of the results, as all the stories blur together. ===Summary=== While there were some problems, I did enjoy the book, and found the material fascinating. Some of the experiments product results that were quite unexpected, and with a little thinking you can use some of this information into whatever your business or trade you operate in. I'd recommend the book, with the caveat that the book has some flaws. Still, the positives outweigh the negatives. ## Features - Why Do Smart People Make Irrational Decisions Every Day? The Answers Will Surprise You. This Book Is A Look At Why We All Make Illogical Decisions. Why Can A 50-cent Aspirin Do What A Penny Aspirin Can't? If An Item Is Free It Must Be A Bargain, Right? Why Is Everything Relative, Even When It Shouldn't Be? How Do Our Expectations Influence Our Actual Opinions And Decisions? In This Book, The Author, A Behavioral Economist Cuts To The Heart Of Our Strange Behaviour, Demonstrating How Irrationality Often Supplants Rational Thought And That The Reason For This Is Embedded In The Very Structure Of Our Minds. This Book Blends Everyday Experiences With A Series Of Illuminating And Often Surprising Experiments, That Will Change The Understanding Of Human Behaviour. And, By Recognizing These Patterns, The Author Shows That We Can Make Better Decisions In Business, In Matters Of Collective Welfare, And In Our Everyday Lives From Drinking Coffee To Losing Weight, Buying A Car To Choosing A Romantic Partner. How An Injury Led Me To Irrationality And To The Research Described Here -- The Truth About Relativity: Why Everything Is Relative, Even When It Shouldn't Be -- The Fallacy Of Supply And Demand: Why The Price Of Pearls And Everything Else Is Up In The Air -- The Cost Of Zero Cost: Why We Often Pay Too Much When We Pay Nothing -- The Cost Of Social Norms: Why We Are Happy To Do Things, But Not When We Are Paid To Do Them -- The Power Of A Free Cookie: How Free Can Make Us Less Selfish -- The Influence Of Arousal: Why Hot Is Much Hotter Than We Realize -- The Problem Of Procrastination And Self-control: Why We Can't Make Ourselves Do What We Want To Do -- The High Price Of Ownership: Why We Overvalue What We Have -- Keeping Doors Open: Why Options Distract Us From Our Main Objective -- The Effect Of Expectations: Why The Mind Gets What It Expects -- The Power Of Price: Why A 50 Cent Aspirin Can Do What A Penny Aspirin Can't -- The Cycle Of Distrust: Why We Don't Believe What Marketers Tell Us -- The Context Of Our Character Part I: Why We Are Dishonest, And What We Can Do About It -- The Context Of Our Character, Part Ii: Why Dealing With Cash Makes Us More Honest -- Beer And Free Lunches: What Is Behavioral Economics And Where Are The Free Lunches? Dan Ariely. Revised And Expanded Edition--t.p. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [335]-349) - Author: Ariely, Dan. - Publisher: Harper Perennial - Pages: 380 - Publication Date: 2010 - Edition: Revised and Expanded ed. - Binding: Paperback - MSRP: 10.99 - ISBN13: 9780061353246 - ISBN: 0061353248 - Other ISBN: 9780061958724 - Other ISBN Binding: print ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #10,395 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #5 in Marketing & Consumer Behavior #42 in Popular Social Psychology & Interactions #47 in Decision-Making & Problem Solving | | Customer Reviews | 4.5 out of 5 stars 11,398 Reviews | ## Images ![Predictably Irrational, Revised and Expanded Edition: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61cjZXBNl2L.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Brilliantly Irrational! *by M***N on March 3, 2013* I have not written any product reviews on Amazon, but I was forced into writing one because of my sincere admiration and new-found respect for Prof. Dan Ariely. I was introduced to the science of Behavioral Economics and the irrational decisions people make in their lives. The author, through his experiments, has an uncanny knack of explaining all the profound concepts in a simple and entertaining manner. The contents in this book will quite literally open your eyes and make you wonder how people are living in this so-called idealistic world of rational decision making. Some of the key ideas presented in this book are: -> How humans perceive value - "not in absolute terms, but one with respect to another," and this is how companies and marketers deceive people with "seemingly attractive" offers that you cannot resist. -> Market forces of supply and demand only apply to rational people - in the real world, companies exploit people's irrationality and influence prices and demand. -> The power of FREE - People are, in essence, losing some other resource in trying to procure FREE items. -> The wonderful distinction of market and social norms, and why and how they cannot coexist. He also explains how companies can motivate their employees using social benefits, which are cheaper and stronger than financial incentives. -> As long as money is not involved, we are caring social animals. -> Why people exhibit different behaviors when they are "normal" (cold state) and when they are "aroused" (hot state). Learning to bridge the gap between the two extreme states is very important and will help you avoid making errors or bad decisions that you will forever regret. -> The high price of ownership reveals three irrational quirks in human behavior - we are deeply attached to what we have; we often focus on what we may lose (also called Loss Aversion); we assume other people (or buyers of our goods) to also value the goods in the same manner as we do. -> People's expectations can cloud their thinking, and they use this as a marketing strategy to influence their friends' tastes and preferences. -> Price is so powerful that it can drive the Placebo Effect - the more the price, the more the utility you derive from the product. This phenomenon was explained with Aspirin - why a 50 cent Aspirin can do what a penny Aspirin can't. -> Trust is an important public resource and a necessary lubricant of the economy. A few bad players in the market can completely erode it. -> Why even the most morally upright person can be susceptible to making small crimes that hardly matter. However, a contemplation of moral behavior or a religious code of law before doing any action can greatly reduce the likelihood of people committing these petty crimes. -> The idea of FREE LUNCHES in behavior economics; the science of economics should be modified to account for how people actually behave instead of how they should behave in society. These are just some of the important principles explained in the book through experiments and startling revelations. It is easy to read and highly entertaining. However, there is one minor flaw in this book - the concepts and results described are all based on experiments performed on American college students or the western society, which may not be applicable to the more conservative societies in the world. BOTTOM LINE - Predictably Irrational is a wonderful book with new insights into irrational behavior in people. But for the one criticism, I believe this can change the way people think about economics, and can result in newer norms that account for our actual and not ideal behavior. PS: For people interested in reading more about behavior and cognitive sciences, I have the following book suggestions: 1. "The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business" by Charles Duhigg. 2. "Thinking, Fast and Slow" by Daniel Kahnem. 3. "The Upside of Irrationality" by Dan Ariely. 4. "The Signal and the Noise: Why So Many Predictions Fail -- but Some Don't" by Nate Silver ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Interesting Stuff, but runs a little long *by A***N on December 31, 2012* This was a fun book to read. It has been a while since I took any economics courses, and I forgot how much of economic theory is based on the assumption that humans are rational beings, always acting in their best interests. Dan Ariely does a marvelous job of shooting holes through that assumption. === The Good Stuff === * The book is really an overview of behavioral economics- the study of how supposedly rational people make decisions. Ariely recounts numerous experiments in which people are given a challenge and react in ways which would seem to be exactly opposite of their self-interest. As an example, if you allow people the chance to buy $1 chocolate bars for 10 cents, they will purchase quite a few. But if you offer then 90 cent chocolates for free, they will only take one or two. If experiments like this interest you, you will enjoy the book. * In each case, Ariely describes a simple experiment, and provides a theory as to what he thinks happened. I have no idea how many of his theories are considered valid, or would stand up to peer review. But for a quick read to just amuse yourself with human nature, the explanations suffice. * Ariely picks a nice assortment of topics-everything from placebos to "irrational" pricing and honestly and ethics. The experiments are clever and "fun", although I doubt they would stand up to serious scientific scrutiny. Still, they were fun to read, and I will probably try some of them on my friends. === The Not So Good Stuff === * While Ariely writes well, he is not the most engaging author you will read. The text comes across a little dry, and by the final chapters, I was ready for the book to end. * While the experiments, or at least their explanations were no doubt simplified for the book, in some cases they open more questions than they answer. Ariely offers one explanation and theory for the observed results, but makes no attempts to analyze deeper, or provide alternative explanations. * Without seeing more information, it is hard to tell if the experiments and their conclusions are statistically valid. In some cases it seems that they might not be, although given Ariely's background, it would seem he would know enough to assure the experiments validity. * Finally, there is no real theme or common thread through the work. Rather it is more like a series of short lab reports. The result is that the book can become tedious, and that it is tough to remember some of the results, as all the stories blur together. ===Summary=== While there were some problems, I did enjoy the book, and found the material fascinating. Some of the experiments product results that were quite unexpected, and with a little thinking you can use some of this information into whatever your business or trade you operate in. I'd recommend the book, with the caveat that the book has some flaws. Still, the positives outweigh the negatives. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Personal Irrational! *by C***. on February 27, 2010* "Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions" by Ariely Ariely (PI), was an interesting read, and deserves to be looked at by economist, psychologist, marketer, or just people looking to improve their selves alike. It follows the trend, set by Freakonomics, by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner, in discussion of esoteric economic concepts, but without the academese that tends to keep casual readers away. I found myself personally engrossed while reading this novel due to the parallels of irrational behavior I discovered I also exhibited and will be actively correcting. The following three I believe have sentimental value to me and I feel are genuinely worth discussing. Zero cost irrationality as described by PI is the concept that reviews the large bias humans show towards "free." I put free in quotations as I am using the term loosely in this context as often the decision chosen is not without cost, and in relative terms, it is often not the option that held the most value per unit of the exchanging intermediary item. In fact, just a few hours before writing this brief review, I purchased three Publix cloth shopping bags that I had no intention of purchasing beforehand, but because they were buy three get one free. I can say in earnest, without that free offer, I would have completely shrugged off the Publix bag, to purchase at another time. A potential solution to this problem, derived from a specific example he mentions within the chapter, is to mentally give the "free" item a price, even one as low as one penny. This, surprisingly, nullifies the zero cost irrationality for most individuals, allowing for proper cost-benefit analysis of the additional item or offer. Procrastination, or the giving up of long-term goals for immediate gratification, this desire for immediate satisfaction permeates particularly strongly throughout American culture. The effect of this national procrastination can be seen by abhorrently low national saving rate, or more implicitly or healthcare system that is more reactive than proactive. Though I personally am not a pure procrastinator, in fact many would consider me an extrovert, I believe that there quite a bit I still put off that I do so exactly because I fail to properly evaluate the opportunity cost of the long term benefit of said action. For example, I did a quick back of an envelope calculation of me putting of my savings to next year, rather than not starting when I begun work two years ago. This three wait has cost me over half a million dollars (Assumptions: Roth IRA, with locked six percent APR, maturing in fifty years). I have begun taking Ariely's advice, and setting hard deadlines for many things, such as this particular book review which I gave myself exactly the day after completing the book to complete, no exceptions and no excuses. The final personal irrationality I've found plaguing my decision making has been that of `keeping doors open,' or not being able to stand the idea of closing our alternative options. My irrational in my context, has to do with maybe not a plethora of options, as emphasized within the book, but rather when I am down to two options that have to deal with something within the social sphere. Case in point, I would fret over the decision of whether I should continue to chase after a girl or letting her go, or going to a party where I would probably feel uncomfortable or not, though these examples may seem simple to an someone else, I struggled with these decisions constantly. Often than not, I found myself unable to take the choice that errs on the side of negative (deciding to stay home, or leave the girl alone) as I felt doing so eliminates a multitude of options without producing any new ones of benefit. I am curious to whether how much confidence has to do with the exact experiment presented within the book. I speculate if participants were required to self select as confident, or perhaps anchored to think of confidence, if such decisions become easier. I wonder this, since many my such decision-making gridlocks underlie a lack of self confidence, perhaps those with more of it at the time of the test may change results. In sum, Ariely's solution, as I interpret it, the cure for procrastination is really premised by self-confidence, where one sets long term goals and bravely commits to them. The book discussed around 14 irrationalities in total across 13 chapters, each holding a slight new scope of human cognizance to gain. The three above mentioned irrationalities after a deep introspective look, I felt held the most personal utility. I genuinely I have a new lens to the world. I genuinely believe that holds the potential to enrich the perspective of most readers as well, no matter their relative amount of academic background on the subject. ## Frequently Bought Together - Predictably Irrational, Revised and Expanded Edition: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions - Thinking, Fast and Slow - The Psychology of Money: Timeless lessons on wealth, greed, and happiness --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.co.uk/products/286416-predictably-irrational-revised-and-expanded-edition-the-hidden-forces-that](https://www.desertcart.co.uk/products/286416-predictably-irrational-revised-and-expanded-edition-the-hidden-forces-that) --- *Product available on Desertcart United Kingdom* *Store origin: GB* *Last updated: 2026-05-27*