Résumé des chapitres 6-7-8-9 de Predictably Irrational (Dan Ariely)

Résumé du document

Fiche de lecture : chapitres 6,7,8 et 9, "Predictably irrational" de Dan Ariely

Extraits

[...] We got used while being a child to have our parents made the best decision for us, nevertheless, little by little we have to make more of our own decisions and we clearly struggle to keep in mind our best overall interest and are more often led by urges that will not lead us to healthy lifestyle and financial stability. Procrastination is a big part of the problem, a tool to fix it would seem to be deadlines or penalties, as the proverb says, too much of anything can make you sick, and it applied to flexibility as well as shown by the experiments carried out. Should we blame ourselves for our lack of self-control when it comes to spending money, or is the society pushing us toward unhealthy ways of consumption? [...]

[...] Stereotypes give us some knowledge before the experience and participate to influence our perceptions of the actual experience. At the end of the day we learnt that expectations can influence every single aspect of our lives and surpass in power all of our senses, preventing us from seeing clearly the truth. If you can convince yourself beforehand that something will be bad, it will definitely be bas, and on the other way around this logic applies to thinking something is going to be good. [...]

[...] As humans we seem to not be able cope with the loss of options even if keeping them open is in no shape or form beneficial to us. Being indecisive when it comes with the dating game can be a truly dangerous thing yet even there we don't seem able to face the loss of options. In chapter the book focuses on trying to determine if previous knowledge can help us solve a present situation and make up our minds more easily. This chapter cleasly shows us through the experiments that expectations define our stereotypes. [...]

[...] One can argue that people's personality has a lot to do with how one would deal with his own urges and desires and that some of us are clearly better at taking the good decision that would lead us toward more happiness and fulfilment. Americans have changed their habits when it comes to saving money. Rationality seems to have left the building, Americans gave up on their savings and decided to follow a lavish lifestyle gladly helped by bankers always offering them more credit cards (at higher rates) to fulfil their endless needs to consume. It seems like Americans are showing less self-control when it comes to decision makings choosing immediate gratification over long term rational judgments. [...]

[...] Feelings and money go hand by hand creating that feeling of ownership. This chapter insists on the fact that the feeling of ownership even surpasses the act of paying and investing money. That feeling of ownership is actually preexistent to the actual fact of owning something, whe you are watching a commercial of browsing through the pages of a magazine you are already picturing yourself owning that watch, that car, or that piece of clothing that you are looking at. [...]