Dan Ariely's Irrational Predictability Paradigm

Based on Paul Feldman’s findings, the authors of Freakonomics argue that a person, who is faced with an efficient way to cheat, will not necessarily choose to. The data involved in Feldman’s accidental bagel study proves that not all humans are corrupt. However,

In chapter one of Freakonomics, Stephen Dubner and Steven Levitt describe how when incentives are strong enough, many usually honest people from different walks of life will cheat in order to gain financially or climb the ladder in their careers. The authors define an incentive as “a means of urging people to do more of a good thing or less of a bad thing.” This chapter covers three varieties of incentives: Economic, Social and Moral. Economic incentives motivate people with the promise of money or goods. Social incentives motivate people to respond in a certain way because they care about how they will be viewed by others. Moral incentives motivate people on the basis of right and wrong. We look at four

this is why it is very important to follow Orders, beacause, because it can lead to some

In today's day and age sales workers are taught to lie and cheat to get a good price. Also studies show, greed is closely related to envy, they’re the evil step sisters of life. That same study shows, almost everyone in today’s society show traces of greed. Greed has an impact of destruction of relationships, and most times leads to loneliness. Greed seems to be a common motive of fraud. Fraud is the “wrongful or criminal deception intended to result in financial or personal gain”. Also executives of big companies have a goal to rip you off, to make the maximum amount of money

Dishonest is a running theme in “The Jungle”. So then,”why?”, you might ask, are people so dishonest in both the and book, but also reality? Well the answer is quite simple, in fact. People are dishonest whenever it is that they wish to help themselves in any given situation. Whether the goal is to protect themselves or others, or to swindle others for their own benefit, they are lying to help themselves. Everyone lied about the age of Stanislovas, so that he could work and help support everyone. The grafter used rather underhanded methods in order to add even further to his already abundant amount of income even if it meant harming others in the process. The house salesman was outrageously dishonest about the house he wrongly sold to Jurgis and his company, as well as about how payments in America worked, and all so he could get his already rich self even richer. So in essence, all lying comes from the universal desire to protect. Whether it be to protect oneself or others is subjective to the individual.

Some incidences I am aware of when I conform and in other circumstances I must do automatically because I do not notice my conformity. There was one particular incident which involved a group discussion in class, my sophomore year of college. I was taking a political science course to fulfill my general education requirement and my group and I were discussing the Constitution. We have just learned new concepts and we have to apply them to the Constitution and the teacher also gave a case study as an activity to complete during class. I had never taken a political science class before and everyone in my group was majoring in political science. Therefore, I felt as though I did not have sufficient knowledge on the topics like everyone else in the group. There was a lot of personal opinion in these particular answers and while I would think of something in my head, I did not agree with any of the other four people in my group. I thought maybe it is because I am a psychology major and I think about situations differently. I believed that everyone else in the group was more knowledgeable when it came to these topics and better informed. When we jotted down our final responses, I did not agree with any of the responses but because I thought they were more informed, I conformed. I agreed with the responses outwardly, but not inwardly. I did not want to be wrong or rejected from my group members. This

Honesty is a well known trait everyone needs to have. The trait is defined by always being straightforward with one another; in other means, not lying. Sometimes it takes a dishonest person to show someone the value of how to be truly honest with others. I am the youngest of 3 in my family and my two older brothers are a good example of learning from being dishonest. Not that they are disrespectful in any means, but growing up watching them tell the occasional lie to my parents really taught me something. I saw the result of them being not honest and the punishment that came with it.

When someone tries to make a person do something, they have the choice not to listen and retaliate. Rules are set in life and you have the power and choice to follow them. No one is stopping you from not following them and they are only something someone is telling you to do, not forcing you. You have the ability to resist what is put against you and that is your choice, not someone else’s. If you were not able to make your own choices, then everyone would be following the rules, and would not have the right to speak out and resist things they don’t want.

The article The Myth of Certainty by Taylor Daneie talks about What it means to be a true Christian that lives in a healthy way. Daneie starts listing off a bunch of questions to get the reader to start thinking about their own life. She talks about being a respectable person and the challenges that a person faces in their life when they try to be a Christian. She talks about the doubts that she knows people have to face from society. A big part of her story was talking about what group a person fits in with and the contributions they make to that group. She says, “We belong to communities of belief which help shape, whether we are conscious of it or not, our views of the world and the actions in it” (Daneie p.21). Once people get into their groups and for their world view, it is tough to try and change them; nearly impossible to get them to change their mind.

In chapter 1, Levitt and Dubner describe how many people in different cultures and walks of life, which are otherwise inclined to be honest, find subtle ways of cheating to advance their position or increase monetary awards when incentives are strong enough. The authors define an incentive as “a means of urging people to do more of a good thing or less of a bad thing,” and identify three varieties of incentives. Economic incentives are those, which a person responds to in the marketplace. Social incentives motivate people to respond in a certain way because they care or are worried about how they will be viewed by others. Moral incentives appeal to a person’s sense of right versus wrong. Three case studies of the

decisions, and resulting consequences. Some of those consequences can be loss of pay, loss of rank, or loss of job. When you say you are going to get something done you are accountable of getting it done no matter what because you gave your word that you were going to get it done. Whenever you don’t keep your word it makes everyone think you are not reliable. Then none of your peers will come to you for help because you will not be able to complete the task.

In this instance, the Anomie or ‘strain’ theory perhaps offers the strongest explanation, first noted my Emile Durkheim who originally wrote it as a theological theory, it came to the attention of sociologist Robert K. Merton who defined it as “deviant behavior derive largely from a disjunction between culturally prescribed aspirations of a society and socially structured avenues for realizing those aspirations” (Garfield, 1987). Essentially there is a contraindication within our culture that urges success of a material and financial variety but only grants it to some and not all, which leads to stress or ‘Anomie’. In one of Merton’s sub-definitions of this theory, titled ‘Rebellion’, he states that in trying to deal with dominant goals the rebel overthrows them altogether but alternate means. Throughout his interview Jason stated that his stealing was a way to get back at the big companies that victimize everyone else but never seem to be punished themselves, his frustration at big business and his inability to achieve material success goals caused him to look for alternative routes in order to make that

People try to uphold themselves to the moral values set by society, yet sometimes make unethical decisions. Typically individuals who do make unethical decisions are influenced by individual biases, outside pressures, and situational factors. These elements can impact decision making to the extent that they consciously or subconsciously lie and cheat. Though, the frequency and magnitude of this behavior generally varies from person to person, a majority would not go to the degree of damaging their positive image.

“The first leg of the fraud triangle represents pressure. This is what motivates the crime in the first place. The individual

“Sharpen the saw”. I know for me I forget a lot of the time that in order to be successful I should take care of myself first. Remembering to take care of myself has never been a leadership habit I have been good at. My previous supervisor who was also a good friend of mine was good at trying to remind me to do things for me.