Dan Ariely
Encyclopedia
Dan Ariely is an Israeli American
professor of psychology
and behavioral economics. He teaches at Duke University
and is the founder of The Center for Advanced Hindsight.
, and he grew up in Ramat Gan and Ramat Hasharon
, Israel
. His mother was a parole officer. When in his senior year of high school he was active in the Hanoar Haoved Vehalomed
youth movement, and while preparing "fire signs" (a common feature in ceremonies of youth movements in Israel) he suffered third-degree burns over 70 percent of his body from an accidental magnesium
flare
explosion.
Ariely was a physics and mathematics major at Tel Aviv University
, but transferred to philosophy when he found the writing too physically taxing. He also holds an M.A. and Ph.D. in cognitive psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
, and a Ph.D. in business from Duke University.
After obtaining his PhD degrees he taught at MIT between 1998 and 2008, before returning to Duke University as James B. Duke Professor of Psychology and Behavioral Economics. Apart from his prolific academic writing, he published two popular books, one titled Predictably Irrational
, and the other titled The Upside of Irrationality, both of which became New York Times best sellers.
Ariely is married and has two children.
Professor of Behavioral Economics at MIT Sloan School of Management
. Although he is a professor of marketing with no formal training in economics, he is considered one of the leading behavioral economists. Ariely is the author of the books Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions
and The Upside of Irrationality: The Unexpected Benefits of Defying Logic at Work and at Home. When asked whether reading Predictably Irrational and understanding one's irrational behaviors could make a person's life worse (such as by defeating the benefits of a placebo
), Ariely responded that there could be a short term cost, but that there would also likely be long-term benefits, and that reading his book would not make a person worse off.
winner and MacArthur Fellow, Emmanuel Saez
.
The study, which polled a cross section of U.S. residents, claimed that the average U.S. resident prefers a wealth distribution in which the top 20% owned between 30% and 40% of the privately held wealth, which is substantially different from the 85% that the top 20% actually own. They also found the average survey participant preferred the bottom 40%--that's 120 million Americans—-to have 25%-30% of the wealth, not the mere 8% to 10% their the average participant thought this group had, and far above the 4% they actually had.
The wealth distribution selected as "ideal" by the average participant is close to the actual 2011 income distribution in Sweden, as noted by Ariely and colleagues. However, one notable discrepancy is that the income distribution rather than the wealth distribution of Sweden was used as a reference point. In wealth distribution, Sweden is quite similar to the U.S.
Articles
Israeli American
Israeli Americans are Americans of Israeli descent. According to the 2000 census, there were 106,839 people of Israeli ancestry in the United States.- Demographics :...
professor of psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
and behavioral economics. He teaches at Duke University
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
and is the founder of The Center for Advanced Hindsight.
Biography
Ariely was born in New York while his father was studying for an MBA degree at Columbia UniversityColumbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, and he grew up in Ramat Gan and Ramat Hasharon
Ramat Hasharon
Ramat HaSharon is a city located on Israel's central coastal strip in the south of the Sharon region, bordering Tel Aviv to the south and Herzliya and Kibbutz Glil Yam to the north. It is part of the Tel Aviv District, within Gush Dan metropolitan area...
, Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
. His mother was a parole officer. When in his senior year of high school he was active in the Hanoar Haoved Vehalomed
Hanoar Haoved Vehalomed
Histadrut HaNoar HaOved VeHaLomed , sometimes abbreiviated to No'al is an Israeli youth movement, a sister movement of Habonim Dror, the Labor Zionist movement....
youth movement, and while preparing "fire signs" (a common feature in ceremonies of youth movements in Israel) he suffered third-degree burns over 70 percent of his body from an accidental magnesium
Magnesium
Magnesium is a chemical element with the symbol Mg, atomic number 12, and common oxidation number +2. It is an alkaline earth metal and the eighth most abundant element in the Earth's crust and ninth in the known universe as a whole...
flare
Flare (pyrotechnic)
A flare, also sometimes called a fusee, is a type of pyrotechnic that produces a brilliant light or intense heat without an explosion. Flares are used for signalling, illumination, or defensive countermeasures in civilian and military applications...
explosion.
Ariely was a physics and mathematics major at Tel Aviv University
Tel Aviv University
Tel Aviv University is a public university located in Ramat Aviv, Tel Aviv, Israel. With nearly 30,000 students, TAU is Israel's largest university.-History:...
, but transferred to philosophy when he found the writing too physically taxing. He also holds an M.A. and Ph.D. in cognitive psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States...
, and a Ph.D. in business from Duke University.
After obtaining his PhD degrees he taught at MIT between 1998 and 2008, before returning to Duke University as James B. Duke Professor of Psychology and Behavioral Economics. Apart from his prolific academic writing, he published two popular books, one titled Predictably Irrational
Predictably Irrational
Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions is a 2008 book by Dan Ariely, in which he challenges readers' assumptions about making decisions based on rational thought. Ariely explains, "My goal, by the end of this book, is to help you fundamentally rethink what makes you and...
, and the other titled The Upside of Irrationality, both of which became New York Times best sellers.
Ariely is married and has two children.
Academic career
He was formerly the Alfred P. SloanAlfred P. Sloan
Alfred Pritchard Sloan, Jr. was an American business executive in the automotive industry. He was a long-time president, chairman, and CEO of General Motors Corporation...
Professor of Behavioral Economics at MIT Sloan School of Management
MIT Sloan School of Management
The MIT Sloan School of Management is the business school of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in Cambridge, Massachusetts....
. Although he is a professor of marketing with no formal training in economics, he is considered one of the leading behavioral economists. Ariely is the author of the books Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions
Predictably Irrational
Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions is a 2008 book by Dan Ariely, in which he challenges readers' assumptions about making decisions based on rational thought. Ariely explains, "My goal, by the end of this book, is to help you fundamentally rethink what makes you and...
and The Upside of Irrationality: The Unexpected Benefits of Defying Logic at Work and at Home. When asked whether reading Predictably Irrational and understanding one's irrational behaviors could make a person's life worse (such as by defeating the benefits of a placebo
Placebo
A placebo is a simulated or otherwise medically ineffectual treatment for a disease or other medical condition intended to deceive the recipient...
), Ariely responded that there could be a short term cost, but that there would also likely be long-term benefits, and that reading his book would not make a person worse off.
Research
A 2011 study (Norton & Ariely, 2011) claims that Americans are united in their vision of what the ideal wealth distribution would be, which follows in the same trend as the research on shared misinformation on the actual wealth distribution by John Bates Clark MedalJohn Bates Clark Medal
The John Bates Clark Medal is awarded by the American Economic Association to "that American economist under the age of forty who is adjudged to have made a significant contribution to economic thought and knowledge"...
winner and MacArthur Fellow, Emmanuel Saez
Emmanuel Saez
Emmanuel Saez is a French economist. Saez is Professor of Economics at the University of California, Berkeley...
.
The study, which polled a cross section of U.S. residents, claimed that the average U.S. resident prefers a wealth distribution in which the top 20% owned between 30% and 40% of the privately held wealth, which is substantially different from the 85% that the top 20% actually own. They also found the average survey participant preferred the bottom 40%--that's 120 million Americans—-to have 25%-30% of the wealth, not the mere 8% to 10% their the average participant thought this group had, and far above the 4% they actually had.
The wealth distribution selected as "ideal" by the average participant is close to the actual 2011 income distribution in Sweden, as noted by Ariely and colleagues. However, one notable discrepancy is that the income distribution rather than the wealth distribution of Sweden was used as a reference point. In wealth distribution, Sweden is quite similar to the U.S.
Publications
BooksArticles
- Combining experiences over time: the effects of duration, intensity changes and on-line measurements on retrospective pain evaluations
- Coherent Arbitrariness: Stable demand curves without stable preferences
- Tom Sawyer and the Construction of Value
- Placebo Effects of Marketing Actions: Consumers May Get What They Pay For
- Dishonesty in Everyday Life and Its Policy Implications
- Try it, you'll like it: The influence of expectation, consumption, and revelation on preferences for beer