Behavioral Economist Dan Ariely to Discuss Dishonest Behavior in Lecture at Institute for Advanced Study
PRESS CONTACT: Alexandra Altman, (609) 951-4406
Dan Ariely, James B. Duke Professor of Psychology and Behavioral Economics at Duke University and former Member (2005–07) in the School of Social Science, will return to the Institute to give a public lecture, “(dis)honesty,” which will take place Friday, May 9, at 5:00 p.m. in Wolfensohn Hall. This lecture is sponsored by the Association of Members of the Institute for Advanced Study (AMIAS).
In this lecture, Ariely will discuss how the principles of behavioral economics can help us understand some of our irrational tendencies, specifically the mechanisms at work behind dishonest behavior. According to Ariely, one of the most interesting lessons is understanding our capacity to think of ourselves as honest even when we act dishonestly. Ariely will examine how the implications of this research are far reaching and include a better understanding of the most recent financial crisis and some of the challenges in healthcare.
Ariely’s research and interests span a wide range of behaviors, and his sometimes unusual experiments are consistently interesting, amusing and informative, demonstrating profound ideas that fly in the face of common wisdom. Despite our intentions, why do we so often fail to act in our own best interest? Why do we promise to skip the chocolate cake, only to find ourselves drooling our way into temptation when the dessert tray rolls around? Why do we overvalue things that we’ve worked to put together? What are the forces that influence our behavior? Ariely is dedicated to answering these questions and others in order to help people live more sensible—if not rational—lives.
In addition to appointments at the Fuqua School of Business, the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, the Department of Economics, and the School of Medicine at Duke University, Ariely is also a founding member of the Center for Advanced Hindsight. Ariely is the author of many New York Times bestselling books including Predictably Irrational (HarperCollins, 2008), which he wrote while a Member at the Institute. Other titles include The (Honest) Truth About Dishonesty (HarperCollins, 2012) and The Upside of Irrationality (HarperCollins, 2010).
Ariely received his Ph.D. in Cognitive Psychology from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill in 1996, and received his Ph.D. in Business Administration from Duke University in 1998. Prior to returning to Duke University as the James B. Duke Professor of Psychology and Behavioral Economics, Ariely was the Alfred P. Sloan Professor of Behavioral Economics at the MIT Sloan School of Management from 1998–2008.
This lecture is free and open to the public. For more information on this and other lectures at the Institute, visit http://www.ias.edu/news/public-events.
About the Institute for Advanced Study
The Institute for Advanced Study is one of the world’s leading centers for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry. The Institute exists to encourage and support curiosity-driven research in the sciences and humanities—the original, often speculative thinking that produces advances in knowledge that change the way we understand the world. Work at the Institute takes place in four Schools: Historical Studies, Mathematics, Natural Sciences and Social Science. It provides for the mentoring of scholars by a permanent Faculty of approximately 30, and it ensures the freedom to undertake research that will make significant contributions in any of the broad range of fields in the sciences and humanities studied at the Institute.
The Institute, founded in 1930, is a private, independent academic institution located in Princeton, New Jersey. Its more than 6,000 former Members hold positions of intellectual and scientific leadership throughout the academic world. Thirty-three Nobel Laureates and 40 out of 56 Fields Medalists, as well as many winners of the Wolf and MacArthur prizes, have been affiliated with the Institute.