Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion
by Robert B. Cialdini
Classic text on six principles of persuasion - reciprocity, commitment, social proof, authority, liking, and scarcity - with extensive research backing.
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Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones
Comprehensive system for building habits through tiny changes, identity-based approach, and four laws of behavior change backed by scientific research.
Thinking, Fast and Slow
Nobel Prize-winning psychologist's groundbreaking work on two systems of thought: fast intuitive thinking and slow deliberative reasoning, with implications for decision-making.
The Decision Lab
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BehavioralEconomics.com
Hub for latest research, experiments, and tools in behavioral economics
Daniel Kahneman: The riddle of experience vs. memory
TED Talk explaining System 1 and System 2 thinking
Behavioral Finance
We make thousands of decisions every day. Do I cross the road now, or wait for the oncoming truck to pass? Should I eat fries or a salad for lunch? How much should I tip the cab driver? We usually make these decisions with almost no thought, using what psychologists call “heuristics” – rules of thumb that enable us to navigate our lives. Without these mental shortcuts, we would be paralyzed by the multitude of daily choices. But in certain circumstances, these shortcuts lead to predictable errors – predictable, that is, if we know what to watch out for. Did you know, for example, that we are naturally biased towards selling investments that are doing well for us, but holding on to those that are doing poorly? Or that we often select sub-optimal insurance payment plans, and routinely purchase insurance that we don’t even need? And why do so many of us fail to enroll in our employer’s corporate retirement plans, even when the employer offers to match our contributions? Behavioral finance is the study of these and dozens of other financial decision-making errors that can be avoided, if we are familiar with the biases that cause them. In this course, we examine these predictable errors, and discover where we are most susceptible to them. This course is intended to guide participants towards better financial choices. Learn how to improve your spending, saving, and investing decisions for the future.