Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions

by Dan Ariely

humans rarely choose things in absolute terms. We don’t have an internal value meter that tells us how much things are worth. Rather, we focus on the relative advantage of one thing over another, and estimate value accordingly.

most people don’t know what they want unless they see it in context.

That’s a lesson we can all learn: the more we have, the more we want. And the only cure is to break the cycle of relativity.

Understand that relativity is everywhere, and that we view everything through its lens—rose-colored or otherwise.

in order to make a man covet a thing, it is only necessary to make the thing difficult to attain.”

With everything you do, in fact, you should train yourself to question your repeated behaviors.

Because once market norms enter our considerations, the social norms depart.

The conclusion: no one is offended by a small gift, because even small gifts keep us in the social exchange world and away from market norms.

we assume other people will see the transaction from the same perspective as we do.