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How Rational Was Your Holiday Spending?

The post-holiday season is a time when many people look back at the memories they made and the money they spent. According to behavioral economist Dan Ariely, many of the financial decisions made during this time, and throughout the year, are based on instincts or emotions rather than value. 

Ariely argues that with the growth of popular technologies like taxi apps and mobile payments, people are also becoming increasingly distanced from the physical act of spending, which is often a helpful tool to keep unnecessary spending in check.

Host Frank Stasio speaks with Ariely, the James B. Duke professor of psychology and behavioral economics at Duke University and the founder of the Center for Advanced Hindsight. Ariely also answers listener questions about the rationality of financial decisions and talks about the new book he co-authored, “Dollars and Sense: How We Misthink Money and How To Spend Smarter” (Harper/ 2017).


WUNC Editor’s Note – Adapted from NPR
Aug. 2, 2023

Since this article first published, researchers have raised concerns about a number of studies authored by Dan Ariely. Ariely, a professor of psychology and behavioral economics at Duke University, was a frequent guest on WUNC’s former talk show The State of Things, appearing at least five times between 2015-2019.

One study in question included data from an insurance company that purported to show that people are more truthful when they sign an ethics declaration at the beginning of a form than at the end. In an independent review, a group of researchers found evidence of data fabrication in that study. You can read more about their findings here, along with Dan Ariely's response. The insurance company that provided the data, The Hartford, released a statement to NPR’s Planet Money in July 2023. In that statement, the company said that it had done a review of its records and that “there appear to be significant changes made to the size, shape and characteristics of our data after we provided it and without our knowledge or consent.” You can hear the full Planet Money story and read the full statement from The Hartford here.

Additionally, a second study – in which Ariely reported reduced cheating among test-takers asked to recall the Ten Commandments before taking the test – has not stood up to replication by other researchers. You can read more about that here.

Laura Pellicer is a digital reporter with WUNC’s small but intrepid digital news team.
Longtime NPR correspondent Frank Stasio was named permanent host of The State of Things in June 2006. A native of Buffalo, Frank has been in radio since the age of 19. He began his public radio career at WOI in Ames, Iowa, where he was a magazine show anchor and the station's News Director.
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