The World's Best Book Summaries
Why are marketing freebies so dangerous? Why will we almost always choose “free” even if there’s a more logical option? We are psychologically attracted to anything that’s free, that’s why marketing freebies are such powerful tools. Even attaching the concept of “free” to a purchase can trigger you to irrationally spend more money on whatever it is. Keep reading to learn more about the power of marketing freebies.
Why is celebrating small successes so important? Why is it more important to feel successful than it is to actually be successful? In the book Tiny Habits, celebrations are a huge part of making a behavior change. If you’re a Habiteer or even just somebody trying to make a positive change in your life, then don’t downplay the importance of celebrating your tiny successes. Keep reading to learn why Tiny Habit celebrations are so important.
What was John Bowlby’s attachment theory? How did Mary Ainsworth further Bowlby’s research? The Bowlby attachment theory states that children need two things: safety and exploration. And when a child feels unsafe, they will reach out for their parent. Ainsworth took the theory even further and came up with the three different attachment styles. Keep reading to learn more about Bowlby’s attachment theory.
How can people manipulate graphs to change how you perceive them? What are the six most common forms of image manipulation? It is possible for someone with an agenda to manipulate an image (whether that be a graph, a map, or a photo) to control the message you take away from them. You’d be surprised how often this happens in business and advertising. Keep reading to learn how manipulated graphs can support an agenda.
What are the two main norms of society? Why is it damaging to introduce market norms in a friendship? How is it beneficial to introduce social norms in the workplace? There are two main norms of society: social norms and market norms. Social norms are requests made by friends or family, and market norms are transactional obligations. Mixing the two societal norms can have unexpected outcomes. Keep reading for more information about the norms of society.
Have you ever noticed that some people seem to get much happier or much more down than others? Do all people feel emotions the same way? How can we work to stay on the happy end of the emotional range? A person’s emotional range is called their affective style. This means that some people have a genetic predisposition toward happiness or sadness and feel different ranges of emotion. When somebody’s emotions tend to fall on the negative side of the range, there are measures they can take to counter them. Keep reading about the emotional range and how to counter
How do we make decisions? What factors influence our decision-making process? Are our decisions rational? In the book Predictably Irrational, author Dan Ariely explains that humans make irrational decisions that are so predictable that they are often taken advantage of by society, especially the marketing industry. He also explains how relativity makes decisions for you. Keep reading to learn the psychology behind how we make decisions.
What do men and women look for in a mate? How does evolution affect sexual behavior? How is jealousy a construct of evolution? Human babies take a long time to develop after birth. This long period of child care requires participation from females and males which has created some mating-related behaviors. Everything from mate selection, to jealousy, to testing loyalty, to how society perceives promiscuity comes from evolution. Keep reading for more on evolutionary relationships.
What is Seligman’s positive psychology? What are the six core virtues that are celebrated across all civilizations? Positive psychology is a relatively new field of science, founded in 1998 by Martin Seligman. This science attempts to elevate the human experience instead of treating the disorder. In his studies, Seligman discovered six core values that stretch across all cultures. Keep reading to learn more about Seligman’s positive psychology and the six core values.
How do companies get away with misleading customers into buying their products? How can statistics be manipulated for deceptive advertising? If a company can’t find a statistic that makes them look good, then they resort to plan B: deceptive marketing. The top two methods for this are to either focus on semi-related figures or to attribute correlation to causation. Learn more about these deceptive advertising techniques below.