Irrational is probably not what you would care to be labelled as, and yet that is exactly what you are. Dan Ariely shows not only are you irrational, but you are predictably irrational.

How can this be so?

Well, many of the illogical decisions you make can be predicted in advance. For example, one of the illustrations in the book involves two samples of chocolate. One is a world famous exotic chocolate and the other is the recycled waste sold as chocolate in convenience stores.

The experiment began by selling the two chocolates side by side in small one bite sized samples. The price of the authentic chocolate experience was 15 cents and the price of the imitation chocolate was only 1 cent. An overwhelming majority of people confronted with this decision concluded that the exotic chocolate was a better buy.

However, once the price of both chocolate samples was dropped by 1 cent something strange happened. You could say it was entirely irrational. The price difference between the chocolates was exactly the same, but now the majority of people took the low quality chocolate.

What caused this switch when the price differential was exactly the same?

The low end chocolate had dropped from 1 cent to free. That magic word free had altered the equation, tipping the value balance away from the quality chocolate.

This is just one of the many cases where our irrational behaviour can be totally predictable. Advertisers are taking advantage of this knowledge all the time. Even when you think you know what the advertiser is doing, you may be surprised to find that he is doing something entirely different on your subconscious level.

This is a great book for anyone who markets anything, or even sets prices on supermarket stock. It is also a must have for anyone considering making a shopping excursion.

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