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The Elements of Choice : Why the Way We Decide Matters
The Elements of Choice : Why the Way We Decide Matters
300 pages, Hardcover
First published October 12, 2021
211 people are currently reading
2481 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 53 reviews
January 29, 2023
Cu un subiect ofertant și puțin întâlnit de mine până acum, cartea asta vorbește mult despre arhitectura alegerii. M-am întrebat la început ce nebunie mai e și asta și am fost puțin sceptică în privința conținutului.
La nivel subconștient cred că mulți dintre noi știm că unele decizii nu sunt 100% ale noastre, că suntem ghidați de o forță nevăzută atunci când alegem.
De exemplu atunci când alegem un film contează foarte mult ordine prezentării și detaliile care ne sunt oferite: dacă îi propui prietenului tău o listă de 5 filme din care să aleagă (într-o discuție face to face), fiecare însoțit de o mică descriere, este foarte probabil să-l aleagă pe ultimul.
Alegerea unui preparat pe care îl consumi la cină este ușor influențată de poziția lui în meniu sau de calitățile prezentate;dacă vorbim de carne, 25% grăsime vs 75% slabă reprezintă același lucru dar mintea ta va percepe diferit informațiile.
Sunt multe exemple revelatoare în această carte și dacă o citești o să afli cum poți să iei decizii mai bune și să-i ajuți și pe ceilalți să o facă.
Cartea este tradusă la Ed.Publica cu titlul Elementele alegerii.
La nivel subconștient cred că mulți dintre noi știm că unele decizii nu sunt 100% ale noastre, că suntem ghidați de o forță nevăzută atunci când alegem.
De exemplu atunci când alegem un film contează foarte mult ordine prezentării și detaliile care ne sunt oferite: dacă îi propui prietenului tău o listă de 5 filme din care să aleagă (într-o discuție face to face), fiecare însoțit de o mică descriere, este foarte probabil să-l aleagă pe ultimul.
Alegerea unui preparat pe care îl consumi la cină este ușor influențată de poziția lui în meniu sau de calitățile prezentate;dacă vorbim de carne, 25% grăsime vs 75% slabă reprezintă același lucru dar mintea ta va percepe diferit informațiile.
Sunt multe exemple revelatoare în această carte și dacă o citești o să afli cum poți să iei decizii mai bune și să-i ajuți și pe ceilalți să o facă.
Cartea este tradusă la Ed.Publica cu titlul Elementele alegerii.
December 3, 2021
This was a really great book about choice architecture. It took me a long time to read because the beginning really felt like the books from Cass Sunstein and Richard Thaler, and it got a little boring. But, I binged a few chapters just to see if it offered anything new, and it absolutely did. Eric Johnson brought a fresh perspective on a lot of aspects of choice architecture and discussed a lot of interesting research that I hadn’t heard before. This book is great for just about anyone. Whether you’re a business owner, website designer, or someone who wants to know how our choices are manipulated, this book has a ton of great information. So, if you’re like me and have read other books about choice architecture, just give it a few chapters, and I promise it’ll be worth it.
February 2, 2022
As a practicing behavioral scientist, this is one of my favorite books on this topic. Fascinating and practical.
October 8, 2021
The Elements of Choice: Why the Way We Decide Matters is a masterclass in choice architecture. A must-read from a field leader.
The way that our choices are framed influences the decisions that we make. Deciding how to portray these decisions is the nature of ‘choice architecture.’ Choice architecture is employed altruistically, opportunistically, and inadvertently. It impacts all of us...
The Elements of Choice is a fantastic synopsis of decades of decision-making research. I highly recommend this book to anyone (laypeople and practitioners alike) interested in the way that we make decisions.
The way that our choices are framed influences the decisions that we make. Deciding how to portray these decisions is the nature of ‘choice architecture.’ Choice architecture is employed altruistically, opportunistically, and inadvertently. It impacts all of us...
The Elements of Choice is a fantastic synopsis of decades of decision-making research. I highly recommend this book to anyone (laypeople and practitioners alike) interested in the way that we make decisions.
February 6, 2022
Familiar with Kahneman? Possess a modicum of common sense? Skip this one. Tedious, predictable, and overly long. A 20 page summary of its content would have sufficed, not a book length treatment.
September 22, 2023
I did not understand how much influence seemingly small environmental factors can have on the decisions I make.
January 31, 2022
Deep Dive into Choice
You won’t find a book more clearly written and detailed on the design of choices and the consequences of those designs than this. Eric Johnson’s book is very well written with stories well told and presented in a way that brings an enormous field of research to light. If you knew nothing about this field ahead of time you would come out feeling satisfied on what this book gives you.
If you know some of it or much of it — like me — you might find that the book is too long. The examples are many, but it felt at times as if I needed to be highly motivated to learn this topic to engage fully with the material. That’s more about me than the book. I’d recommend this highly to those interested in and new to the idea of choice architecture and what the psychology of decisions looks like in real, practical terms.
You won’t find a book more clearly written and detailed on the design of choices and the consequences of those designs than this. Eric Johnson’s book is very well written with stories well told and presented in a way that brings an enormous field of research to light. If you knew nothing about this field ahead of time you would come out feeling satisfied on what this book gives you.
If you know some of it or much of it — like me — you might find that the book is too long. The examples are many, but it felt at times as if I needed to be highly motivated to learn this topic to engage fully with the material. That’s more about me than the book. I’d recommend this highly to those interested in and new to the idea of choice architecture and what the psychology of decisions looks like in real, practical terms.
February 19, 2022
One of my favourite psyc/design books because it covered things I didn't learn in school (with concrete examples)
February 13, 2022
This is a faster, lighter read than any of the Kahneman books of you want an overview of choice architecture. I knew a lot of it already but still learned new details and enjoyed the examples he uses and several research studies that I had not known.
A lot of the research cites choice architecture changes that influences choice in certain direction, but it never results in 100% of participants choosing X - I’d like to learn more about the psychology of people who did not choose X. What other forces are at play with those folks? Maybe that’s his next book.
A lot of the research cites choice architecture changes that influences choice in certain direction, but it never results in 100% of participants choosing X - I’d like to learn more about the psychology of people who did not choose X. What other forces are at play with those folks? Maybe that’s his next book.
Want to read
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September 16, 2023
Rating: 8.5/10
Duration: 7 days
One sentence summary: explores the field of choice architecture and how when making a decision, options are intentionally presented to us in a manner that's designed to nudge us toward making the "right" choice
Topics: non-fiction, behavioral economics, decision-making, psychology
Likes:
> As a major behavioral economics buff, I enjoyed learning about how the choices that are presented to us are carefully crafted.
> As a consumer, I found it interesting to learn about all the little details that are used to nudge consumers toward making the "right" decision. Slight details like placement of product, display order, words, and defaults play a large role in how we, as consumers, make certain economic, political, and everyday decisions.
> One thing that I really appreciated in the book is Johnson's acknowledgment of the dark side of choice architecture. A choice architecture's job is to display a set of options in a specific way to encourage the consumer to purchase the most profitable option for a business. However, Johnson explores how choice architectures can intentionally manipulate the options presented to lure consumers into choosing not the option that's best for them but instead best for a business or political party
Dislikes:
> As a whole the book is filled with interesting facts, pieces of research, and concepts. However, having read a plethora of other behavioral economics books, I found Johnson's writing style a bit of a bore. For that reason, I often found myself speed-reading through the last half of the book, just to extract the most valuable pieces of information.
Cool new concept:
> Choice architectures have 2 goals: fluency and accuracy
> FLUENCY: Choices presented to us need to be fluent and easy to understand. The more complex the choices are, the more likely we are to select the default choice, which is not always the optimal choice for the consumer
> ACCURACY: Choices presented to us need to be the most accurate and best for each consumer.
Duration: 7 days
One sentence summary: explores the field of choice architecture and how when making a decision, options are intentionally presented to us in a manner that's designed to nudge us toward making the "right" choice
Topics: non-fiction, behavioral economics, decision-making, psychology
Likes:
> As a major behavioral economics buff, I enjoyed learning about how the choices that are presented to us are carefully crafted.
> As a consumer, I found it interesting to learn about all the little details that are used to nudge consumers toward making the "right" decision. Slight details like placement of product, display order, words, and defaults play a large role in how we, as consumers, make certain economic, political, and everyday decisions.
> One thing that I really appreciated in the book is Johnson's acknowledgment of the dark side of choice architecture. A choice architecture's job is to display a set of options in a specific way to encourage the consumer to purchase the most profitable option for a business. However, Johnson explores how choice architectures can intentionally manipulate the options presented to lure consumers into choosing not the option that's best for them but instead best for a business or political party
Dislikes:
> As a whole the book is filled with interesting facts, pieces of research, and concepts. However, having read a plethora of other behavioral economics books, I found Johnson's writing style a bit of a bore. For that reason, I often found myself speed-reading through the last half of the book, just to extract the most valuable pieces of information.
Cool new concept:
> Choice architectures have 2 goals: fluency and accuracy
> FLUENCY: Choices presented to us need to be fluent and easy to understand. The more complex the choices are, the more likely we are to select the default choice, which is not always the optimal choice for the consumer
> ACCURACY: Choices presented to us need to be the most accurate and best for each consumer.
April 14, 2022
Whether you're helping students choose the right school, deciding how to invest for your retirement, or encouraging people to donate their organs, this book will help you and others around you make better choices.
Every point is made with tremendous attention to detail and real life stories to go with it.
My favourite chapter would be one on organ donations. It was interesting to see how seemingly similar people from different countries for ex Denmark and Sweden(both Scandinavian countries) had such contrasting views on organ donations with only 4% of the Danes wanting to donate their organs after death as opposed to 86% of the swedes. Similarly with Austria and Germany with around 99.98% Austrians in favour of organ donations but only a mere 12% of the Germans. Turns out, in some cases, the way the questions were being asked was the reason why people preferred one choice over the other. In some cases the choice was based solely off of religious reasons whereas in others, the dearth of education behind how those organs can be used to help people was discovered to be the primary reason.
Similarly, children applying to high schools in New York that are given a list of schools to choose from and apply to are often overwhelmed with the vast plethora of options. School districts that ask students to apply to high schools should design a choice architecture that most effectively presents families with the options available to them, to help make the choice that best aligns with the child’s knacks and competencies.
Makes you develop a deeper understanding of why we make the choices we make and establish a system to help make better ones in the future, that are both moral and effective. Altogether, a great book on behavioural sciences
Every point is made with tremendous attention to detail and real life stories to go with it.
My favourite chapter would be one on organ donations. It was interesting to see how seemingly similar people from different countries for ex Denmark and Sweden(both Scandinavian countries) had such contrasting views on organ donations with only 4% of the Danes wanting to donate their organs after death as opposed to 86% of the swedes. Similarly with Austria and Germany with around 99.98% Austrians in favour of organ donations but only a mere 12% of the Germans. Turns out, in some cases, the way the questions were being asked was the reason why people preferred one choice over the other. In some cases the choice was based solely off of religious reasons whereas in others, the dearth of education behind how those organs can be used to help people was discovered to be the primary reason.
Similarly, children applying to high schools in New York that are given a list of schools to choose from and apply to are often overwhelmed with the vast plethora of options. School districts that ask students to apply to high schools should design a choice architecture that most effectively presents families with the options available to them, to help make the choice that best aligns with the child’s knacks and competencies.
Makes you develop a deeper understanding of why we make the choices we make and establish a system to help make better ones in the future, that are both moral and effective. Altogether, a great book on behavioural sciences
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 13, 2024
I want to admit that I started this book back in October 2023 but only managed to finish it now. Before I tell you about the amazing aspects of this book, I want to take a few names which can be easily considered as the names of phenomenal value when it comes to field of behavioral finance and economics:
1) Daniel Kahneman
2) Amos Tversky
3) Richard Thaler
4) Cass Sunstein
and now, 5) Eric J Johnson
These guys are legends and I have had the good fortune of reading 3 out of these 5. I want to highlight few of the examples which will enable us to realize that how impressionable our mind is and the concept of free will is not as apparent as we would like to believe:
1) People are present-biased when it comes to expending efforts and spending money as well. This means that their perception of effort at the beginning of making a decision is particularly important. This is why fluency is an important determinant. Fluency is the initial and subjective feeling we have about the ease of taking a particular plausible path. It is not an objective measurement of how hard it is to make a decision, but rather a subjective measure of how it feels
2) What we say we prefer depends upon what we recall. We think we know what we want but often we are faced with a situation that is not exactly like anything we have dealt before. These are called assembled preferences. These are not always stable and fixed, but rather improvised, constructed haphazardly from large set of relevant memories. It was very well demonstrated in an experiment in which raw grounded beef was being sold at 2 different counters. First counter labeled the meat as 25% fat while in the other counter, it was labeled as 75% lean. Both the counters had same grounded beef but the first counter sold less as compared to the second because of how the meat was described. When you see 25% fat, all the fat associated memories come into picture like greasy, low quality, fattier and unhealthy. While in the second counter, labeling invokes positive memories of health. We don’t consider everything we know but only a part of what we know because that is what we recall and use that subset of information to inform our decision. When we are making a choice, we often don’t express a deeply held belief. We practically invent that opinion at the time. When a preference is being assembled at the time of making a decision, accessibility of memory plays a major role. So, we may make inconsistent choices on the basis of what we remember at the time
3) By changing the accessibility, we can change people’s preference. An experiment was conducted in which people were required to show their commitment towards the cause of global warming by making monetary contribution. The activity was divided into 2 rooms such that in one room, temperature in the thermostat was much higher than the other one. The donation in hotter room was 3 times more as compared to the other room. Hence, by improving the accessibility of certain experiences which invoke certain memories can help one modify his or her opinion on the subject without tapping into the individual’s awareness. Furthermore, what we recall also influences what we don’t recall. Increased accessibility to one set of memories inhibits the accessibility of other set of memories
4) One of the biggest myths that we believe in is that more choices improve the chance of making a better a decision. It is not true. There are 2 reasons. First, when we face many options and we have to compare them on multiple variables, the activity starts appearing very difficult and it invariably drives us towards choosing the default option. Second, when we feel overwhelmed by the activity of comparing, we tend to increase the weightage of most accessible attribute and use it as the ultimate determinant of taking the decision. For ex: in dating, physical attributes are used to screen the crowd. More options discourage a deeper understanding of those options. Too many choices cause people to feel less confident about their choice and leads to delay in decision making
5) Have you ever realized that the sequence of options also influences what you choose? We tend to assume that any option presented first is the best among the lot and become biased in its favor. This happens because the amount of effort required to make a choice influences the choice that we make and sequential depiction of options increases the difficulty for our brain to remember all the options with all the attributes and do a comparative analysis before arriving at an option. So, it may seem that being first has an advantage. This is only partially true. There is a tipping point over which it becomes more and more beneficial to be at the last of the list as it the length of the list makes it difficult to recall the options
At last, the issue that worries me the most is about the ethics involved with the issue of design choice architecture and choice architects. There was a company called Practice Fusion. Since, single physicians are unable to afford a system which maintains electronic health records. Practice Fusion started to provide these facilities free of cost. However, it turned out that Practice fusion is getting payments from pharmaceutical companies to make changes in the choice architecture of EHRs. How did they do this? In court hearing of 2016, it came out that Purdue Pharma paid $1 million to Practice fusion to install an alert for all doctors to ask their patients about the pain that they are feeling and provide painkiller options to the doctors with its own product of OxyContin on top. This alert popped up 230 million times in 3-year period and Purdue pharma estimated that this shall add 3000 customers with $11 million in sales. 2016-2019 was the same period when concern was rising in the American society regarding over-subscription of pain medication. Center for disease control and prevention even produced guideline to stop this but it continued unabated. Purdue Pharma settled a suit in 2020 for misleading marketing of opioids with fines and payments amounting to $8 billion. While Practice Fusion admitted that they changed their choice architecture in exchange of payment from Purdue Pharma and settled the case brought by State of Vermont for $145 million
I feel this field of study needs wider attention before it becomes normal to exploit choice architectures for personal gains
1) Daniel Kahneman
2) Amos Tversky
3) Richard Thaler
4) Cass Sunstein
and now, 5) Eric J Johnson
These guys are legends and I have had the good fortune of reading 3 out of these 5. I want to highlight few of the examples which will enable us to realize that how impressionable our mind is and the concept of free will is not as apparent as we would like to believe:
1) People are present-biased when it comes to expending efforts and spending money as well. This means that their perception of effort at the beginning of making a decision is particularly important. This is why fluency is an important determinant. Fluency is the initial and subjective feeling we have about the ease of taking a particular plausible path. It is not an objective measurement of how hard it is to make a decision, but rather a subjective measure of how it feels
2) What we say we prefer depends upon what we recall. We think we know what we want but often we are faced with a situation that is not exactly like anything we have dealt before. These are called assembled preferences. These are not always stable and fixed, but rather improvised, constructed haphazardly from large set of relevant memories. It was very well demonstrated in an experiment in which raw grounded beef was being sold at 2 different counters. First counter labeled the meat as 25% fat while in the other counter, it was labeled as 75% lean. Both the counters had same grounded beef but the first counter sold less as compared to the second because of how the meat was described. When you see 25% fat, all the fat associated memories come into picture like greasy, low quality, fattier and unhealthy. While in the second counter, labeling invokes positive memories of health. We don’t consider everything we know but only a part of what we know because that is what we recall and use that subset of information to inform our decision. When we are making a choice, we often don’t express a deeply held belief. We practically invent that opinion at the time. When a preference is being assembled at the time of making a decision, accessibility of memory plays a major role. So, we may make inconsistent choices on the basis of what we remember at the time
3) By changing the accessibility, we can change people’s preference. An experiment was conducted in which people were required to show their commitment towards the cause of global warming by making monetary contribution. The activity was divided into 2 rooms such that in one room, temperature in the thermostat was much higher than the other one. The donation in hotter room was 3 times more as compared to the other room. Hence, by improving the accessibility of certain experiences which invoke certain memories can help one modify his or her opinion on the subject without tapping into the individual’s awareness. Furthermore, what we recall also influences what we don’t recall. Increased accessibility to one set of memories inhibits the accessibility of other set of memories
4) One of the biggest myths that we believe in is that more choices improve the chance of making a better a decision. It is not true. There are 2 reasons. First, when we face many options and we have to compare them on multiple variables, the activity starts appearing very difficult and it invariably drives us towards choosing the default option. Second, when we feel overwhelmed by the activity of comparing, we tend to increase the weightage of most accessible attribute and use it as the ultimate determinant of taking the decision. For ex: in dating, physical attributes are used to screen the crowd. More options discourage a deeper understanding of those options. Too many choices cause people to feel less confident about their choice and leads to delay in decision making
5) Have you ever realized that the sequence of options also influences what you choose? We tend to assume that any option presented first is the best among the lot and become biased in its favor. This happens because the amount of effort required to make a choice influences the choice that we make and sequential depiction of options increases the difficulty for our brain to remember all the options with all the attributes and do a comparative analysis before arriving at an option. So, it may seem that being first has an advantage. This is only partially true. There is a tipping point over which it becomes more and more beneficial to be at the last of the list as it the length of the list makes it difficult to recall the options
At last, the issue that worries me the most is about the ethics involved with the issue of design choice architecture and choice architects. There was a company called Practice Fusion. Since, single physicians are unable to afford a system which maintains electronic health records. Practice Fusion started to provide these facilities free of cost. However, it turned out that Practice fusion is getting payments from pharmaceutical companies to make changes in the choice architecture of EHRs. How did they do this? In court hearing of 2016, it came out that Purdue Pharma paid $1 million to Practice fusion to install an alert for all doctors to ask their patients about the pain that they are feeling and provide painkiller options to the doctors with its own product of OxyContin on top. This alert popped up 230 million times in 3-year period and Purdue pharma estimated that this shall add 3000 customers with $11 million in sales. 2016-2019 was the same period when concern was rising in the American society regarding over-subscription of pain medication. Center for disease control and prevention even produced guideline to stop this but it continued unabated. Purdue Pharma settled a suit in 2020 for misleading marketing of opioids with fines and payments amounting to $8 billion. While Practice Fusion admitted that they changed their choice architecture in exchange of payment from Purdue Pharma and settled the case brought by State of Vermont for $145 million
I feel this field of study needs wider attention before it becomes normal to exploit choice architectures for personal gains
February 26, 2023
A complex read written in a way easy to grasp, and more importantly invoke to take action. It does not only emphasize why choice architecture is so important, but is also explains how it works.
Fluency and accuracy are the two main forces that form a decision. These help to shape the plausible paths.
The number of options also plays a role. A large number of options greatly increases negligence and the most optimal option is rarely given attention.
Primacy and recency are putting the emphasis on either the first or the last option respectively. When a person has control over the consumption of the order, eg reading it on own pace, the first options had an advantage. However, when the chooser has no control on how options are presented, eg by listening, they tend to remember only the last ones.
Decision engines are not always well intended. Therefore, not to fall into their trap it is important to know how they work and actively decide on something else, rather than deciding with our System 1.
This way we can also be better choice architects for ourselves and describe the options to best suit our needs.
Fluency and accuracy are the two main forces that form a decision. These help to shape the plausible paths.
The number of options also plays a role. A large number of options greatly increases negligence and the most optimal option is rarely given attention.
Primacy and recency are putting the emphasis on either the first or the last option respectively. When a person has control over the consumption of the order, eg reading it on own pace, the first options had an advantage. However, when the chooser has no control on how options are presented, eg by listening, they tend to remember only the last ones.
Decision engines are not always well intended. Therefore, not to fall into their trap it is important to know how they work and actively decide on something else, rather than deciding with our System 1.
This way we can also be better choice architects for ourselves and describe the options to best suit our needs.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 1, 2024
This one was really, really good.
(1) Topic: I love books about decision-making that reveal something about how humans operate. Often we think we know how humans work because we are, in fact, human. But often there are things happening that are surprising, or - at the very least - we sort of feel but don't have the language to describe. Books like this are like an operating manual for our own minds, and they can be truly illuminating to read.
(2) Science: This man knows his stuff and is very careful with the facts. He presents a nuanced, well-research case often rooted in not only studies, but meta-analysis. During the rare part of the book in which his theories are based more on logic and opinion than on solid research, he specifically calls that out.
(3) Incredibly well told: At times personal without being egocentric, exceptional stories that illustrate the points, precise and accessible language.
(4) Well organized: It starts with the usual foundations stuff. Then it discusses defaults, the number of options available to us, the order options are presented, and option descriptions, before tying it all together.
All around fantastic read!
(1) Topic: I love books about decision-making that reveal something about how humans operate. Often we think we know how humans work because we are, in fact, human. But often there are things happening that are surprising, or - at the very least - we sort of feel but don't have the language to describe. Books like this are like an operating manual for our own minds, and they can be truly illuminating to read.
(2) Science: This man knows his stuff and is very careful with the facts. He presents a nuanced, well-research case often rooted in not only studies, but meta-analysis. During the rare part of the book in which his theories are based more on logic and opinion than on solid research, he specifically calls that out.
(3) Incredibly well told: At times personal without being egocentric, exceptional stories that illustrate the points, precise and accessible language.
(4) Well organized: It starts with the usual foundations stuff. Then it discusses defaults, the number of options available to us, the order options are presented, and option descriptions, before tying it all together.
All around fantastic read!
August 22, 2022
My husband and I enjoyed this book on audiobook (however I didn't see that as a Goodreads option edition when choosing how I consumed it) on and off over a six week+ period during drives to/from the lake and on longer road trips.
It was a good book to enjoy in smaller chunks or else we found that the information started to get muddled and it became a lot to digest. Eric's book shares some quality research and great examples of choice architecture, so we definitely appreciated absorbing it in smaller time chunks/a chapter here and there.
We both learned some interesting information about how companies attempt to affect choice and how humans are wired when presented with options. This book makes you think about ALL of the choices you have in your daily life and how much "choice" you actually have. At times it was a little dry/boring for us, but overall it was an informative and insightful book.
It was a good book to enjoy in smaller chunks or else we found that the information started to get muddled and it became a lot to digest. Eric's book shares some quality research and great examples of choice architecture, so we definitely appreciated absorbing it in smaller time chunks/a chapter here and there.
We both learned some interesting information about how companies attempt to affect choice and how humans are wired when presented with options. This book makes you think about ALL of the choices you have in your daily life and how much "choice" you actually have. At times it was a little dry/boring for us, but overall it was an informative and insightful book.
February 10, 2022
For anyone who is in any Internet enterprise, this book offers a nice look at UX（user experience）in a social and psychological way, I guess and gives readers some ideas about improving that.
However, as someone mentioned earlier in the comments.
It was too long and specific about examples and detail. For example, the writer told you A, which you might not know, that would be cool. Then he used like 30 pages in one chapter as well as 30 pages in another chapter to prove that which made the book intolerable long and boring(sorry to say that).
Tbh, I almost lost in the middle after about 100 pages. I would have thought getting one copy for my colleague but in the end I killed the idea.
However, as someone mentioned earlier in the comments.
It was too long and specific about examples and detail. For example, the writer told you A, which you might not know, that would be cool. Then he used like 30 pages in one chapter as well as 30 pages in another chapter to prove that which made the book intolerable long and boring(sorry to say that).
Tbh, I almost lost in the middle after about 100 pages. I would have thought getting one copy for my colleague but in the end I killed the idea.
November 18, 2022
I train FORTUNE 500 on a subject called Invisible Selling - Behavioural Economics & More . It is a science that does'nt take a breath - like Elon Musk . Hence I am always on the lookout for new & credible stuff . This book fits the bill. It has greater elaboration on stuff that has already been covered by eg The organ donation experiment covered by Dan Ariely in Predictably Irrational . It also has great new stuff & some new terminology eg Mandated Choice . Every student of Invisible Selling will find this book useful .I have terminated 1 star because the book could have been made easier & more interesting . The visuals are very poor . They could have contained much more information . I read non fiction books to understand things better not to enhance my brain fog
February 12, 2024
The topic is fascinating - the architecture of choice. That said, I didn't rate the book very highly as it was a bit like trying to cool yourself down with a cold drink, only to find you can't turn the tap (faucet) off.
Johnson's work aligns nicely with Thaler's work, so fans of Nudge will enjoy it. Danny Kahneman also gets a few shoutouts (and rates the book highly). I suspect Nassim Taleb would hate the book, but then he can be a little fussy in his choice of friends (apparently Taleb's real friends have not read his books, which caused me to ask him on Twitter recently whether people stop being his friends after reading his books - his 'Like' made my day).
Back to Elements of Choice. There are some interesting findings, particularly how the order of candidates in an election can swing the votes, but also around how forms and websites are designed. Still, I think the material could be more condensed. I gave it two stars - which is mediocre, in my opinion. But, then again, reading it is your choice, or is it?
Johnson's work aligns nicely with Thaler's work, so fans of Nudge will enjoy it. Danny Kahneman also gets a few shoutouts (and rates the book highly). I suspect Nassim Taleb would hate the book, but then he can be a little fussy in his choice of friends (apparently Taleb's real friends have not read his books, which caused me to ask him on Twitter recently whether people stop being his friends after reading his books - his 'Like' made my day).
Back to Elements of Choice. There are some interesting findings, particularly how the order of candidates in an election can swing the votes, but also around how forms and websites are designed. Still, I think the material could be more condensed. I gave it two stars - which is mediocre, in my opinion. But, then again, reading it is your choice, or is it?
January 12, 2023
The Elements of Choice contains many interesting examples of how design influences choices. Unfortunately, many of these examples and ideas have already been discussed in detail in books like Nudge, Grit, and Thinking Fast and Slow. Two of these book are even mentioned. This is also the type topic often discussed on the podcasts Freakonomics and No Stupid Questions. So what's my point? This isn't a bad book, but it suffers from coming out after so many others. If you're new to this area you will likely enjoy it more.
December 26, 2021
Es un libro muy importante donde nos platica de la importancia de la "arquitectura para elección". Una buena parte del libro es sobre defaults, donde el autor ha escrito prolíficamente. Nos habla de cómo diseñarlos efectivamente, el rol de la fluidez y de la precisión, del efecto de apoyo (endorsement), del rol del número de opciones, y cómo la memoria funciona para la elección. Me ha gustado muchísimo, y es una lectura obligada para todos los que nos gusta economía y psicología.
December 9, 2021
If you enjoyed Nudge by Richard Thaler/Cass Sunstein, you will enjoy this book.
Absolute free will is an illusion. How we make decisions is often shaped by how our choices are presented to us.
Eric dives deep into choice architecture and both its positive and negative impacts.
A well illustrated and interesting read!
Absolute free will is an illusion. How we make decisions is often shaped by how our choices are presented to us.
Eric dives deep into choice architecture and both its positive and negative impacts.
A well illustrated and interesting read!
April 6, 2023
Following the choice architecture to building the choice engines was an interesting read on how we are influenced to how we progress our thoughts, persuasions, and conversations. I would suggest this book to those looking to better understand the reasoning of their thoughts when it comes to dialogue. I liked the practicality of using common everyday examples.
March 6, 2022
Another example of how humans aren't the rational actors we fancy ourselves to be. Johnson does well to highlight the inherent benefits and dangers of choice architecture and how we might use nudges to influence the choices we make.
April 28, 2022
Choice architecture is a new field/concept for me, so I appreciated how Johnson broke it down and made it accessible, using plenty of examples. Even after 300 pages I'm still not entirely sure how to apply it to what I need to apply it to, which is a common frustration with these books.
January 30, 2023
The start was fascinating. Pow pow pow, the stories and anecdotes quickly won me over. I was texting my friends about a study/finding every couple pages... and then the book dramatically slowed down. Uneven.
February 8, 2023
Oh, how I love a good behavioral econ book! All the references to a plethora of studies were immaculate. Also, reading some of Thaler and Khaneman's books before this was helpful to gaining a better understanding of the book's content. Loved it! Eric J Jonson is on my list of heroes.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 21, 2025
Within days of starting my journey through this book, I was already noticing choice architecture in just about everything. It was startling, fascinating, and concerning, just as the book highlights (and explains in a way that’s easy enough to follow.) Highly recommend!
February 21, 2022
Good book that dives into detail on choice architecture and nudging. Recommended for those interested in behavioural economics and how design influences the choices we make.
March 5, 2022
Lots of interesting ideas to be used in everyday life.
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