A Beginner's Guide to Irrational Behavior
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Course Details
Cost
FREE
Upcoming Schedule
- TBA
Course Provider

Coursera online courses
Coursera's online classes are designed to help students achieve mastery over
course material. Some of the best professors in the world - like neurobiology
professor and author Peggy Mason from the University of Chicago, and computer
science professor and Folding@Home director Vijay Pande - will supplement your
knowledge through video lectures. They will also provide challenging
assessments, interactive exercises during each lesson, and the opportunity to
use a mobile app to keep up with yo...
Coursera's online classes are designed to help students achieve mastery over
course material. Some of the best professors in the world - like neurobiology
professor and author Peggy Mason from the University of Chicago, and computer
science professor and Folding@Home director Vijay Pande - will supplement your
knowledge through video lectures. They will also provide challenging
assessments, interactive exercises during each lesson, and the opportunity to
use a mobile app to keep up with your coursework. Coursera also partners with
the US State Department to create “learning hubs” around the world. Students
can get internet access, take courses, and participate in weekly in-person
study groups to make learning even more collaborative. Begin your journey into
the mysteries of the human brain by taking courses in neuroscience. Learn how
to navigate the data infrastructures that multinational corporations use when
you discover the world of data analysis. Follow one of Coursera’s “Skill
Tracks”. Or try any one of its more than 560 available courses to help you
achieve your academic and professional goals.
Provider Subject Specialization
Humanities
Sciences & Technology
Course Description
This course will draw heavily on my own research, and pulls largely from my
three books: [Predictably Irrational](http://www.amazon.com/Predictably-
Irrational-Revised-Expanded-Edition/dp/0061353248/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=13610
31703&sr=8-1&keywords=dan+ariely) (2008), [The Upside of
Irrationality](http://www.amazon.com/The-Upside-Irrationality-Unexpected-
Benefits/dp/0061995045/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1361031759&sr=8-6)
(2010), and [The Honest Truth About Dishonesty](http://www.amazon.com/Honest-
Truth-About-Dishonesty-Everyone---Especially/dp/0062183591/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&
qid=1361031810&sr=8-3&keywords=dan+ariely) (2012). We will examine topics such
as our “irrational” patterns of thinking about money and investments, how
expectations shape perception, economic and psychological analyses of
dishonesty by honest people, how social and financial incentives work together
(or against each other) in labor, how self-...
This course will draw heavily on my own research, and pulls largely from my
three books: [Predictably Irrational](http://www.amazon.com/Predictably-
Irrational-Revised-Expanded-Edition/dp/0061353248/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=13610
31703&sr=8-1&keywords=dan+ariely) (2008), [The Upside of
Irrationality](http://www.amazon.com/The-Upside-Irrationality-Unexpected-
Benefits/dp/0061995045/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1361031759&sr=8-6)
(2010), and [The Honest Truth About Dishonesty](http://www.amazon.com/Honest-
Truth-About-Dishonesty-Everyone---Especially/dp/0062183591/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&
qid=1361031810&sr=8-3&keywords=dan+ariely) (2012). We will examine topics such
as our “irrational” patterns of thinking about money and investments, how
expectations shape perception, economic and psychological analyses of
dishonesty by honest people, how social and financial incentives work together
(or against each other) in labor, how self-control comes into play with
decision making, and how emotion (rather than cognition) can have a large
impact on economic decisions. This highly interdisciplinary course will be
relevant to all human beings.
**The goals of this class:**
1. Introduce you to the range of cases where people (consumers, investors, managers, friends, significant others, and even you) might make decisions that are inconsistent with standard economic theory and the assumptions of rational decision making. This is the lens of behavioral economics.
2. Help you think creatively about the applications of behavioral economics to the development of new products, technologies and public policy, and to understand how business and social policy strategies could be modified with a deeper understanding of the effects these principles have on all of us.