How You Decide: The Science of Human Decision Making

by Ryan Hamilton

People have always been fascinated by how the mind works. Thousands of times each day, we are presented with choices that require from what to wear each day to where to live. Over millennia philosophers, theologians, and mathematicians have all weighed in on how we make decisions, and in recent centuries economists, psychologists, and sociologists have joined this investigation. Some of these past theories are essentially aspirational, describing decision making as it should be, not as it often is.

This course provides a different view. In How You The Science of Human Decision Making, Professor Ryan Hamilton, associate professor of marketing at Emory University's Goizueta Business School, uses research revealed via the scientific method to understand and explain human decision making. While his easygoing manner and anecdotes about surprising and bizarre choices will keep you enthralled, Professor Hamilton also shares what decision science has revealed through empirically tested theories that make falsifiable predictions and lead to testable hypotheses. Based on the outcomes of his own published experiments and those of his colleagues, Dr. Hamilton presents information that allows you to better understand the choices you face every day, the tools you can use to make the best decisions for your personal goals, and how to most effectively influence the decisions of others.

Throughout this course, you'll examine complex and seemingly simple decisions and see the factors that play into both. You'll understand the pitfalls of routines that have become such a part of life that they obscure the decision making process and learn how the memory of a song or joke heard years ago can have an effect on a decision being made today.

Dr. Hamilton emphasizes the complex nature of human beings and the many environmental, physical, and emotional aspects of life that can impact any specific decision at any given moment.

Genres: Psychology, Audiobook, Nonfiction, Science, Social Science, Business

12 pages, Audible Audio

Published September 23, 2016

Reviews

[Abdullah Al-Abri · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the best books i have ever read
it has a full information on the kind and type of decision-making human-made, and how it can be influenced for better or worse decision. Any Marketer or person work or love marketing should read or hear this wonderful book.

[Joseph L. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Watch a detailed review along with my favorite ideas and takeaways at:
https://youtu.be/1kg1n6Kl7Pk

[Annie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The content is like a summary of several subjects: cognitive biases, behavioral economics (like "Nudge"), and psychology (like "Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion" and "The Paradox of Choice").

[Ken Reid · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first half was fascinating and the second half dry. Plus, I'd really appreciate if every experiment explained also mentioned the number of test subjects and whether they were a reasonable sample of humanity, or of university students in one US state.

[Anton Nikolov · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really nice collection of lectures in regards to decision making. Well organized information and supported with some nice examples. Good sum up of the most important points at the end chapter, too.

[Outdoors Nerd · Rating 5 out of 5]

THIS IS A BOOK.

A truly amazing audiobook/lecture course. The most informative and relatable behavioural insights I have encountered. I am going to reread this right now.

[Brian Thorson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Everyday, we each make countless decisions. Most decisions are made without much thought, and this is often fine when the decisions are of little consequence. However, some of these decisions depend upon bias or misaligned heuristics. Understanding how our brains make decisions, consciously and unconsciously, helps to improve our decision making and their outcomes.

The course "How Decisions Are Made" explores the psychological, social, and emotional factors that influence decision-making processes. It delves into various theories and models of decision-making, including rational choice theory and behavioral economics.

Key topics include the impact of cognitive biases, the role of emotions, the influence of group dynamics, and the importance of context in decision-making. The course also discusses strategies for improving decision-making skills, encouraging critical thinking, and recognizing common pitfalls.

Overall, it aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of how individuals and groups arrive at decisions and how to enhance the quality of those decisions.

Worthwhile course.

[Cody · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was good! I listened to the audiobook. My New Years resolution was to make decisions more quickly and efficiently. A lot of the material covered here I had previously learned from various courses and pop science books. (Thinking Fast and Slow, Nudge, etc). It’s all still very interesting though. Sometimes it’s a little grating that psychologists give abstract names to every phenomenon they observe. It was also surprising how overwhelmingly male the authors cited were. The presentation was great- a funny and engaging speaker. As for whether I’ll use this to change my own decision making…. Maybe! I think some nuggets can be exported for an individual human.

1) identify preferences before consulting the options
2) “put money in a separate envelope” to more effectively save
3) condense bad experiences as much as possible; expand good experiences.
4) be aware that you’ll use up your cognitive resources, so spend them wisely. Don’t make 10 decisions about vacation then expect to be productive at work.

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a Fantastic, science based overview of how we humans make decisions. Many parts I don't like, but it's still great to know because these are our tendencies. With better knowledge, I can made better decisions, consciously avoiding some of the natural pitfalls in areas that our brains are vulnerable to proxies, biases, misplaced intuition, and more. This was SO educational, and I highly recommend it.

[Karlan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Decision making is complex but there are some predictable ways people act and being aware of them can help us avoid some bad decisions—and be more understanding when we see others making them. Or use this knowledge to manipulate people around us out of their money. Fortunately for all you, this course helped my consumer awareness but didn’t get me to the level that I’m ready to go out and con somebody.

[JC · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh boy this took a while to get through but it's very good.


Top 3 Takeaways
1) People are more complicated and simple than you'd think.
2) People are not rational actors
3) When making a decision, try to figure out how you ar being manipulated.


Would I recommend it? Yes.
Would I reread? Yes but probably try to target certain chapters than overall.

[Romerotéllez Romerotéllez · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought it would help me make important decisions, but I realized I already followed a couple of methods suggested. Interesting and informative nevertheless. There is so much we don't know about the human mind. In my opinion psychology is not a science, but a fascinating field to explore.

[Jari Pirhonen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good course about biases and how people can be motivated/manipulated. I've read several books about the topic, so mostly a review to me.

[Ron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Comprehensive and truly a course in that it cannot be digested quickly or over a short period of time. One of the best I’ve experienced to date.

[Jaiprakash · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good read on decision making

[Adam · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm sure there are many concepts here that would fall victim to the great replication crysis (the people listening to french music being more likely to order french wine thing was a completely fabricated sturdy, for example), but this is a nice repository of things to look into and confirm with some googling.

So take this lecture with a hint of salt, but take it, and research it a bit.

[Virginia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summaries of research, presented as lectures, read for a class on Behavioral Finance. Sources include many good books!

[Mike Hansen · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a great course to listen to.

[Kevin Hanks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very fun and engaging book. I put this in the realm of many of the other "how the brain works" type of books: The author tries very hard to take the complex and intricate testing done by psychologists at different universities, and break down those conclusions into something a muggle like me can understand. How many chapters start with "So a group of researchers at UCLA took some Undergrad volunteers and got them to ... blah blah blah ... and this is what that means for you". I appreciate this type of hard work to bring a complex subject and make it understandable, and I enjoyed learning the insights. Fantastic job.

[Jack · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent course. Very good at presenting concepts and supporting them with examples. Everything made a lot of sense and provided a framework for understanding how decisions are made and for seeing how advertisers (or politicians) can nudge you toward an objective. I really liked the presentation on Reasons decisions are made. It included an interesting take on how often we make decisions for Bad reasons, e.g. reasons that really don't have anything to do with the decision we're trying to make. Lots of good stuff here. I really recommend it.