The Honest Truth About Dishonesty by Dan Ariely

The Honest Truth About Dishonesty: How We Lie to Everyone - Especially Ourselves by Dan Ariely
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

On the pro side, some of these influences are important to know about in one's personal life and in legal and policy work. On the con side, this book is pretty repetitive if you've read Ariely's other books as I have. Additionally, though I'm aware that this is all based on studies, the lack of actual moral or spiritual perspective in the book is disappointing. Compare for example Jonathan Haidt's The Happiness Hypothesis or The Righteous Mind.

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Dollars and Sense by Dan Ariely

Dollars and Sense: How We Misthink Money and How to Spend Smarter by Dan Ariely
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is a better book if you haven't already read a ton of behavioral economics. For me, it was a compilation of a lot of effects I'd already read about (for example in Ariely's Predictably Irrational). This book would be great for people who don't know that much about behavioral economics who are interested in personal finance.

I was also uncomfortable with the way the authors veered into territory that was somewhat morality- based without a holistic view of the issue. I fear economics often makes this mistake, but to my mind, behavioral economics is more sophisticated and shouldn't make this error. We've rejected the idea that humans make the most rational economic decisions. We've also learned that morality can be very closely tied to empathy and other emotional systems. So I didn't find the section on "fairness" to very sophisticated with regards to current economics, psychology, biology, or ethics research. Sure, you should pay the locksmith his rate for the reasons stated in this book, but I disagree that you shouldn't battle large companies like Netflix or Uber when they do something you consider unfair- and certainly when they do unethical things.

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The Upside of Irrationality by Dan Ariely

The Upside of Irrationality: The Unexpected Benefits of Defying Logic at Work and at Home by Dan Ariely
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I gave it only 4 stars because there is a lot of overlap with Arely's other book, Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions. In particular, I think Predictably Irrational also addressed how high wages or bonuses are demotivating, how the "Sisyphean condition" at work is demotivating, and how we overvalue our own work.

I really enjoyed the new sections on adaption, "assortative mating" which is economist talk for hot people pairing up together, dating inefficiencies and how to potentially make them more efficient, and the joys of consumer revenge (though I'm certain that's not how Ariely would describe that section). There was also an interesting section on how we tend to follow our own example. Once we have behaved a particular way, we view our choices so positively that we continue to behave in that way. Mind-bending.

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Payoff by Dan Ariely

Payoff: The Hidden Logic That Shapes Our Motivations by Dan Ariely
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A very short book about what motivates us at work, in our families, in our search for a meaning in life. Most of the results are based on actual research in behavioral economics.

In short: control over our lives, creativity, the hard work we put into things, personalizing our work, being personally appreciated at work, love and sacrifice for those we're committed to, and having a sense of legacy in our work or family life.

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Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely

Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions by Dan Ariely
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Ariely explains how all humans are irrational in certain circumstances. He discusses how we attribute value to something, and how marketing exploits us to attribute more value to something. How we regularly make choices that reduce our ability to be content with our choices.

He explains how money itself - or it's absence- causes us to view decisions in an entirely irrational light.

Other things influence our decisions in a way we would ourselves not predict: social norms, arousal, placebos, and even the cost of placebos.

I think this is an extremely important book in helping people to understand how very difficult it is for all of us to be objective, though we all believe ourselves to be.

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