Conversation with Dan Ariely, author and behaviorial economist

In this episode, Dane Stangler, a research manager at the Kauffman Foundation, talks with Dan Ariely, author and professor. They discussed Ariely's perspective on behavior economics, which quantifies how people actually act in the marketplace, often very different than what conventional wisdom dictates. Ariely tells how irrational behavior can be both positive and negative. For example, when calorie counts are posted in fast food restaurants, consumers put all logic aside and ignore the numbers. On the plus side, Ariely says, our society benefits from entrepreneurship, even though the risks of starting a business would make it seem an irrational idea.

Ariely is the author of the New York Times Bestseller "Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces that Shape Our Decisions" and of "The Upside of Irrationality: The Unexpected Ways We Defy Logic at Work and at Home."

He is the James B. Duke Professor of Psychology & Behavioral Economics at Duke University, where he holds appointments at the Fuqua School of Business, the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, the School of Medicine, and the department of Economics.

He earned a bachelor's degree in psychology from Tel Aviv University, his master's and doctorate degrees in cognitive psychology from the University of North Carolina, and a doctorate in Business Administration from Duke University.

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