Behavioral Economist, Dan Ariely, has long been fascinated with how emotional states, moral codes and peer pressure affect our ability to make rational and often extremely important decisions in our daily lives — across a spectrum of our interests, from economic choices (how should I invest?) to personal (who should I marry?).
At Duke, he’s aligned with three departments (business, economics and cognitive neuroscience); he’s also a visiting professor in MIT’s Program in Media Arts and Sciences and a founding member of the Center for Advanced Hindsight.
His hope is that studying and understanding the decision-making process can help people lead better, more sensible daily lives. Watch this one and you decide…
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/dan_ariely_asks_are_we_in_control_of_our_own_decisions.html
In Grade 10 Life Orientation we look at the role of the media in “modern” society. I included this clip and the pupils were enthralled by how easily our decisions can be (unknowingly) influenced by what we are exposed to in the media.
Thanks for the clip Zoë