Predictably Irrational, Revised and Expanded Edition

Relative Comparison Framingdesign lever

The presence and arrangement of comparison options (including decoys) in a choice set that anchors evaluation on relative rather than absolute value, making certain options appear more attractive.

Price Anchordesign lever

An initial price or numeric reference encountered when contemplating a purchase that imprints on the mind and coherently shapes subsequent willingness to pay for that and related products over time.

Zero Price Framingdesign lever

Framing an item or component of a transaction as FREE rather than low cost, which triggers a disproportionate emotional pull and loss-avoidance that distorts cost-benefit evaluation.

Social versus Market Norm Cuecontextual condition

Contextual signals (mention of money, prices, gifts, or favors) that activate either social norms emphasizing community and reciprocity or market norms emphasizing exchange, payment, and self-interest.

Emotional Arousal Statepsychological state

A heightened hot emotional state (such as sexual arousal, anger, or hunger) that overrides deliberative judgment and dramatically shifts preferences, morality, and risk-taking in ways people underpredict.

Ownership Attachmentpsychological state

The psychological state of feeling ownership (or virtual/partial ownership) of an item or idea, which inflates its perceived value through endowment, loss aversion, and effort investment.

Expectation Setpsychological state

Prior beliefs, branding, ambience, presentation, or stereotype cues that shape how a person perceives and physiologically experiences a product, event, or person before and during the experience.

Price as Quality Signaldesign lever

The price level attached to a product or treatment, which serves as an implicit cue of quality and can causally alter both subjective and objective experiences such as pain relief and performance (placebo effect).

Distance from Cashcontextual condition

The degree to which a transaction involves nonmonetary or symbolic currency (tokens, supplies, miles, electronic transactions) rather than physical cash, which loosens moral constraints and increases dishonesty.

Moral Reminderdesign lever

A salient cue invoking a moral benchmark (recalling the Ten Commandments, signing an honor code) presented at or near the moment of temptation that activates the conscience and curbs dishonesty.

Precommitment Mechanismdesign lever

Tools and structures (self-imposed deadlines, automatic deductions, self-control credit cards, reward pairing) that bind future behavior in advance to counteract procrastination and lack of self-control.

Drive to Keep Options Openbehavioral pattern

The irrational compulsion to keep alternative doors open even at substantial cost, which distracts from the main objective and reduces overall payoff.

Marketplace Trustpsychological state

The degree to which consumers believe and rely on companies, marketers, and counterparties, a public good that is easily eroded by deception and hard to restore once broken.

Distorted Valuationoutcome metric

The resulting outcome in which a person's willingness to pay, perceived value, or judgment of worth deviates systematically from true preferences or objective value.

Suboptimal Choice and Behavioroutcome metric

Decisions and actions that fail to maximize the individual's own welfare, such as grabbing free items, overspending, procrastinating, choosing for image, or chasing worthless options.

Dishonest Behavioroutcome metric

The extent to which otherwise honest people cheat, inflate claims, or behave unethically when given the opportunity, typically by a small margin unless restrained by moral cues.

Experienced Utility and Well-beingoutcome metric

The actual pleasure, satisfaction, relief, or enjoyment a person derives from a product, treatment, or experience, which can be altered by expectations and price even when the underlying stimulus is unchanged.