BBC News Magazine asks “Why do well-off people shoplift?” following TV-chef Anthony Worrall Thompson’s arrest over the weekend. Interviewing psychologists, the article suggests depression, the recession, or trauma as potential reasons. A 2008 paper by Dan Ariely provides another possible explanation. First, it is not immediately clear why theft is irrational. People may shoplift because …
Dan Ariely
What’s the point of new year’s resolutions?
I was asked yesterday what my new year’s resolutions were for 2012. And while I had a ready list of five or so objectives for the year ahead, it did get me wondering what the point of new year’s resolutions were – particularly as we seem to revel in breaking them more than fulfilling them. …
Politicians and sex
What can behavioural economics tell us about political sex scandals? More than you might think. I’m currently reading Dan Ariely’s excellent book Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces that Shape Our Decisions. In one chapter, Ariely describes a study he undertook in 2006 which tested whether periods of sexual arousal altered responses to some questions about sex. In …