Behavioral Economics Helps You Understand Yourself [10 Videos]

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Behavioral economics‘ role is growing in explaining why we do things the way we do and what motivates us.

Gone are the days when economists could base their work on rational behavior maximizing the value to homo economicus. Marketing, sales, persuasion, and other business objectives depend on understanding how people think.

I have collected the next 10 videos that will give you an introduction to behavioral economics field.

You will find videos from heavy weights of the field Daniel Kahneman, Dan Pink, Dan Ariely, and others, as well as really insightful ideas from others. You can find more willpower books here. So, take some time, sit back and watch the videos.

Dan Ariely: Are we in control of our decisions?

17:26 Behavioral economist Dan Ariely, the author of Predictably Irrational, uses classic visual illusions and his own counter-intuitive (and sometimes shocking) research findings to show how we’re not as rational as we think when we make decisions.

Predictably Irrational

Revised and Expanded Edition: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions Paperback by Dr. Dan Ariely.

Why do our headaches persist after we take a one-cent aspirin but disappear when we take a fifty-cent aspirin? Why do we splurge on a lavish meal but cut coupons to save twenty-five cents on a can of soup?

When it comes to making decisions in our lives, we think we’re making smart, rational choices. But are we?

Dan Ariely refutes the common assumption that we behave in fundamentally rational ways. From drinking coffee to losing weight, from buying a car to choosing a romantic partner, we consistently overpay, underestimate, and procrastinate. Yet these misguided behaviors are neither random nor senseless. They’re systematic and predictable—making us predictably irrational.

Dan Ariely Quotes from Predictably Irrational

Giving up on our long-term goals for immediate gratification, my friends, is procrastination. ~ Dan Ariely

Individuals are honest only to the extent that suits them (including their desire to please others) ~ Dan Ariely

People are willing to work free, and they are willing to work for a reasonable wage; but offer them just a small payment and they will walk away. ~ Dan Ariely

When given the opportunity, many honest people will cheat. ~ Dan Ariely

Drive: The surprising truth about what motivates us

10:47 This lively RSA Animate, adapted from Dan Pink’s talk at the RSA, illustrates the hidden truths behind what really motivates us at home and in the workplace.

Drive

The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel H. Pink. The New York Times bestseller that gives readers a paradigm-shattering new way to think about motivation.

Most people believe that the best way to motivate is with rewards like money—the carrot-and-stick approach. That’s a mistake, says Daniel H. Pink (author of To Sell Is Human: The Surprising Truth About Motivating Others). In this provocative and persuasive new book, he asserts that the secret to high performance and satisfaction at work, at school, and at home—is the deeply human need to direct our own lives, to learn and create new things, and to do better by ourselves and our world.

Drawing on four decades of scientific research on human motivation, Pink exposes the mismatch between what science knows and what business does—and how that affects every aspect of life. He examines the three elements of true motivation—autonomy, mastery, and purpose-and offers smart and surprising techniques for putting these into action in a unique book that will change how we think and transform how we live.

Daniel Pink Quotes from Drive

When the reward is the activity itself – deepening learning, delighting customers, doing one’s best – there are no shortcuts. ~ Daniel H. Pink

Greatness and nearsightedness are incompatible. Meaningful achievement depends on lifting one’s sights and pushing toward the horizon. ~ Daniel Pink

Control leads to compliance; autonomy leads to engagement. ~ Daniel H. Pink

Human beings have an innate inner drive to be autonomous, self-determined, and connected to one another. And when that drive is liberated, people achieve more and live richer lives. ~ Daniel H. Pink

The monkeys solved the puzzle simply because they found it gratifying to solve puzzles. They enjoyed it. The joy of the task was its own reward. ~ Daniel H. Pink

Daniel Kahneman: The riddle of experience vs. memory

20:36 Using examples from vacations to colonoscopies, Nobel laureate and founder of behavioral economics Daniel Kahneman reveals how our “experiencing selves” and our “remembering selves” perceive happiness differently. This new insight has profound implications for economics, public policy — and our own self-awareness.

Daniel Kahneman Quotes from Thinking, Fast and Slow

Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman. I believe this is one of the most important books published in recent years. One of the best psychology books ever by Nobel Prize winner in Economics Daniel Kahneman summarizes research that he conducted over decades, often in collaboration with Amos Tversky. It covers all three phases of his career: his early days working on cognitive bias, his work on prospect theory, and his later work on happiness.

Odd as it may seem, I am my remembering self, and the experiencing self, who does my living, is like a stranger to me. ~ Daniel Kahneman

Nothing in life is as important as you think it is, while you are thinking about it. ~ Daniel Kahneman

Our comforting conviction that the world makes sense rests on a secure foundation: our almost unlimited ability to ignore our ignorance. ~ Daniel Kahneman

If you care about being thought credible and intelligent, do not use complex language where simpler language will do. ~ Daniel Kahneman

when faced with a difficult question, we often answer an easier one instead, usually without noticing the substitution. ~ Daniel Kahneman

We are prone to overestimate how much we understand about the world and to underestimate the role of chance in events. ~ Daniel Kahneman

Julia Dupire: Behavioral Economics

6:43 A TEDx talk by 16-year-old Julia Dupire. Julia conducted a survey on the socio-behavioral determinants of instant gratification and risk-taking and presented her results in this talk at the Lycée Français de New York. An accomplished artist and writer with an interest in Behavioral Economics, New York City student Julia Dupire is a superb mix of creativity and critical thinking.

Behavioural Economics: Nick Southgate’s five best practice BE strategies

8:11 Consultant Nick Southgate talks about his five best practice BE strategies and his new best practice guide called “Behavioural Economics in Action: Strategies and Insights from the IPA Effectiveness Awards”.

Behavioural Economics in Action

Strategies and Insights from the IPA Effectiveness Awards. This publication is the latest in a series of publications the IPA has produced around the topic of Behavioural Economics and its potential application to the advertising industry. In this important update, Nick Southgate and Rory Sutherland explain the seven principles of behavioural economics. They outline the five most successful strategies being used by agencies today, evidenced in recent IPA Effectiveness case studies, and they also address some common misconceptions, including the notion that consumers are irrational.

Behavioural Economics: Rory Sutherland explains how BE can creatively solve business problems

14:48 Rory Sutherland, former IPA President, and Vice-Chairman Ogilvy Group UK, elaborates on what we can expect from the new best practice guide he has written with Nick Southgate “Behavioural Economics in Action: Strategies and Insights from the IPA Effectiveness Awards” and top tips on how BE can creatively solve business problems.

Alchemy: The Surprising Power of Ideas That Don’t Make Sense

We think we are rational creatures. Economics and business rely on the assumption that we make logical decisions based on evidence.

But we aren’t, and we don’t.

In many crucial areas of our lives, reason plays a vanishingly small part. Instead, unconscious desires drive us, which is why placebos are so powerful. We the beautiful, the extravagant and the absurd draw us – from lavish wedding invitations to tiny bottles of the latest fragrance. So if you want to influence people’s choices, you have to bypass reason. The best ideas don’t make rational sense: they make you feel more than they make you think.

The book blends cutting-edge behavioral science, jaw-dropping stories and a touch of branding magic on his mission to turn us all into idea alchemists. The big problems we face every day, whether as an individual or in society, could very well be solved by letting go of logic and embracing the irrational.

Rory Sutherland’s Quotes from Alchemy

The human mind does not run on logic any more than a horse runs on petrol ~ Rory Sutherland

When you demand logic, you pay a hidden price: you destroy magic ~ Rory Sutherland

The opposite of a good idea can be another good idea ~ Rory Sutherland

Driving User Behavior with Game Dynamics

59:43 Rajat Paharia, founder and Chief Production Officer of Bunchball, discusses participation engines and the use of game dynamics and behavioral economics to incentivize and motivate user participation on the web.

Choice Overload Jam Test

2:30 From the documentary Thinking Money on Public Television. Professor Sheena Iyengar illustrates how we react to the overload of choice we experience when we are faced with too many choices. Sheena Iyengar is the S.T. Lee Professor of Business in the Management Division of the Columbia Business School and author of The Art of Choosing.

How to Make a Behavior Addictive: Zoë Chance

16:57 Zoë professes at Yale School of Management, researching decision making and social welfare, and helping students make their dreams come true. Her work has been covered in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, The Economist, Scientific American, Psychology Today, Financial Times, and Discover. Before getting her doctorate from Harvard, she marketed a $200 million segment of Barbie toys for Mattel. Now, she collaborates with academic and industry colleagues to use behavioral economics to help people avoid temptation and make decisions that will benefit them in the long run. And she’ll be talking about a new type of toy that might do just that—if it doesn’t drive you crazy first.

Explorations of the Mind: Intuition with Daniel Kahneman

56:00 Daniel Kahneman is an internationally renowned psychologist whose work spans cognitive psychology, behavioral economics, and the science of well-being. In recognition of his groundbreaking work on human judgment and decision-making, Kahneman received the 2002 Nobel Prize. In this program, he explores the idea of intuition. Series: “UC Berkeley Graduate Council Lectures”.

More on this topic

Want to get a deeper understanding of psychology? Willpower books help you learn. Dig into this list of books. Find out how willpower works and motivate yourself not to fall back to old ways.

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