Index

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A

Accessory Transit Company, 154

acknowledging workers, 74–76, 80

acronyms, 120

adaptation, 157–90

   assortative mating and, 191–212; see also assortative mating

   focusing attention on changes and, 159–60

   hedonic, 160–84; see also hedonic adaptation

   nineteenth-century experiments on, 157–58

   to pain, 160–67

   physical, 157–60, 161n

   sensory perception and, 158–60

Aesop, 198–99

agriculture, obesity and technological developments in, 8

AIDS, 250, 251

airlines, customer service problems of, 142–43

alienation of labor, 79–80

American Cancer Society (ACS), 241–42, 249–50, 254

Andrade, Eduardo, 262, 265, 267–68, 299

anger, acting on, 257

   author��s anecdote of, 258–61

   driving and, 261

   ultimatum game and, 268, 269–70, 273, 274, 276

animals:

   empathy for suffering of, 249

   generalizing about human behavior from studies on, 63

   working for food preferred by, 59–63

annoying experiences:

   breaking up, 177–79, 180

   decisions far into future affected by, 262–64

annuities, 234

anterior insula, 266–67

anticipatory anxiety, 45

Anzio, Italy, battle of (1944), 167

apathy toward large tragedies, 238–39

   drop-in-the-bucket effect and, 244–45, 252, 254–55

   statistical condition and, 238–41, 242, 246, 247–49, 252–53

apologies, 149–51

   for medical errors, 152

Apple, 120n

   battery replacement issue and, 141–42

art, homemade, 89–90

Asian tsunami, 250, 251

assembly line, 78–79

assortative mating, 191–212

   altering aesthetic perception and (sour grapes theory), 198–99, 200, 201, 203

   author’s injuries and, 191–96, 210–11

   dinner party game and, 198

   failure to adapt and, 200–201, 203–5

   gender differences and, 209, 211

   HOT or NOT study and, 201–5, 208, 211

   reconsidering rank of attributes and, 199–200, 201, 205–10

   speed-dating experiment and, 205–10

Atchison, Shane, 140–41, 146

attachment:

   to one’s own ideas, see Not-Invented-Here (NIH) bias

   to self-made goods, see IKEA effect

attractiveness, assortative mating and, 191–212

   see also assortative mating

auctions, first-price vs. second-price, 98–99

Audi customer service, author’s experience with, 131–36, 137, 149, 153–54

   experimental situation analogous to, 135–39

   fictional case study for Harvard Business Review based on, 147–49

B

bailout, public outrage felt in response to, 128–31

baking mixes, instant, 85–87

bankers:

   author’s presentation of research findings to, 107–9, 121

   bonus experiments and, 38–41, 51

   Frank’s address to, 41

   public outrage in response to bailout and, 128–31

bankruptcy, 129, 130

Barkan, Racheli, 39, 109–10, 299

basketball, clutch players in, 39–41

beauty:

   assortative mating and, 196–212; see also assortative mating

   general agreement on standard of, 203

Becker-DeGroot-Marschak procedure, 91

Beecher, Henry, 167

behavioral economics:

   goal of, 9–10

   human rationality not assumed in, 6–7

   revenge as metaphor for, 124n

Betty Crocker, 87

Bible, Gideon’s conversation with God in, 288–89

blindness, adaptation to, 172–74

blogging, 65

Blunder (Shore), 117

boiling-frog experiment, 157–58

bonuses, 17–52

   bank executives’ responses to research on, 37–39

   clutch abilities and, 39–41

   for cognitive vs. mechanical tasks, 33–36, 40–41

   creativity improvements and, 47–48

   experiments testing effectiveness of, 21–36, 44–46

   Frank’s remarks on, 41

   intuitions about, 36–37

   inverse-U relationship between performance and, 20–21, 47

   loss aversion and, 32–33

   optimizing efficacy of, 51–52

   public rage over, 21

   rational economists’ view of, 36–37

   social pressure and, 44–46

   surgery situation and, 48–49

   viewed as standard part of compensation, 33

   in wake of financial meltdown of 2008, 131

brain:

   judgments about experiences and, 228–29

   punishment and, 126

breaks, in pleasant vs. painful experiences, 177–81

Brickman, Philip, 170

business, experimental approach to, 292–93

C

cake mixes, instant, 85–87

California, moving to, 176

Call, Josep, 127

cancer, American Cancer Society fundraising and, 241–42, 249–50, 254

canoeing, romantic relationships and, 278–79

cars, 215–16

   designing one’s own, 88, 89

   division of labor in manufacture of, 78–79

   in early days of automotive industry, 94

   hedonic treadmill and, 175

   see also driving

cell phones, 7

   in experiments on customer revenge, 135–39, 145–46, 150–51

   see also texting

CEOs, very high salaries and bonuses paid to, 21

Chance, Zoë, 220, 300

changes:

   ability to focus attention on, 159–60

   decisions about life’s path and, 287

   in future, foreseeing adaptation to, 160, 171–74

   status quo bias and, 285, 286

   in workers’ pay, job satisfaction and, 169–70

charities:

   American Cancer Society (ACS), 241–42, 249–50, 254

   calculating vs. emotional priming and, 246–48

   emotional appeals and, 240–42, 248–50, 253–54, 256

   identifiable victim effect and, 239–42, 248, 256

charities (cont.)

   mismatching of money and need and, 250–51

   motivating people to take action and, 252–56

Chat Circles, 225

cheating, 76

childbirth, pain of, 168, 169n

children:

   in growing and preparing of food, 121

   parents’ overvaluation of, 97–98

chimpanzees, sense of fairness in, 127

chores, taking breaks in, 177–79, 180

civil liberties, erosion of, 158

Clark, Andrew, 169

climate change, 251–52

closeness, empathy and, 243, 245, 254

clutch abilities, 39–41

CNN, 238

Coates, Dan, 170

cockroaches, social pressure in, 45–46

commercial breaks, enjoyment of television and, 181n

comparisons, hedonic adaptation and, 189

compensation, 47

   changes in, job satisfaction and, 169–70

   see also bonuses

completion:

   employees’ sense of, 77, 79–80

   Loewenstein’s analysis of mountaineering and, 80–81

computers, 233

consumer purchases, 185–88

   happiness derived from transient experiences vs., 187–88

   hedonic treadmill and, 175

   placing limits on, 186–87

   reducing, 185–86

   spacing of, 185, 186

contrafreeloading, 60–63

   Jensen’s study of, 60–62, 63

   standard economic view at odds with, 62–63

Converse, 95

cooking:

   children’s involvement in, 121

   enjoyment factor and, 62n, 105–6

   semi-preprepared food and, 85–88

CO2 emissions, 251–52

counting strategies, 282–83

Count of Monte Cristo, The (Dumas), 123

creation, pride of:

   ideas and, see Not-Invented-Here (NIH) bias

   self-made goods and, see IKEA effect

creativity, bonuses and improvements in, 47–48

Csíkszentmihályi, Mihály, 49

cultures, organizational:

   acronyms and, 120

   Not-Invented-Here bias and, 119–21

customer revenge, 131–51

   against airlines, 142–43

   apologies and, 149–51, 152

   author’s experience with Audi customer service and, 131–36, 137, 147–49, 153–54

   distinction between agents and principals and, 144–47

   Farmer and Shane’s “Yours Is a Very Bad Hotel” and, 140–41, 146

   fictional case study for Harvard Business Review on, 147–49

   increase in, 143

   Neistat brothers’ video on Apple’s customer service and, 141–42

   passage of time and, 151

   phone call interruption experiments on, 135–39, 145–46, 150–51

customization, 94–96

   of cars, 88, 89, 94

   effort expended in, 89, 95–96

   overvaluation despite removing possibility of, 96

   of shoes, 95, 96

D

Dallaire, Roméo, 255

Darfur, 238, 253

Dart Ball game, 23, 34

Darwin, Charles, 157

dating, 191–235

   market failures in, 213–15, 216–17, 220–21, 230–32, 233–35

   playing hard to get and, 104

   standard practice of, 224–25, 227–28

   yentas (matchmakers) and, 213

   see also assortative mating; online dating; speed dating

decision making:

   author’s medical care and, 284–88

   cooling off before, 257, 279

   emotions and, 261–77

   gender differences and, 274–76

   irreversible decisions and, 285, 286

   rationalization of choices in, 287

   from rational perspective, 5–6

   short-term, long-term decisions affected by, 264–65, 270–74, 276–77

   stability of strategies for, 261–65; see also self-herding

   ultimatum game and, 265–70, 275–76

dentistry, adaptation to pain and, 161–62

design, taking people’s physical limitations into account in, 230–32

destroying work in front of workers, 74–76

Dichter, Ernest, 86

disease:

   adaptation to pain and, 165, 167

   preventative health care and, 251, 256

   “survivor” rhetoric and, 241–42

Disney, 154

distraction, performance-based incentives and, 30, 36

division of labor, 77–80

   IT infrastructure and, 77, 79–80

   Marx’s alienation notion and, 79

   Smith’s observations on, 77–78

divorce, foreseeing outcome of, 173

Dodson, John, 18–20, 22, 31, 47

do-it-yourself projects, see IKEA effect

Donath, Judith, 225

Dostoyevsky, Fyodor, 157

Doubletree Club, Houston, 140–41, 146

dreams, author’s self-image in, 182–83

DreamWorks SKG, 154

driving:

   momentary anger during, 261

   safety precautions and, 6–7

   texting during, 6, 7, 8

   see also cars

drop-in-the-bucket effect, 244–45, 252, 254–55

Dumas, Alexandre, 123

E

Eastwick, Paul, 172–73

Edison, Thomas, 117–19, 122

effort:

   increase in value related to, 89, 90, 95–96, 105–6; see also IKEA effect

   joy derived from activity and, 71–72

   meaningful work conditions and, 72

   ownership of ideas and, 114–16

   see also labor

egg theory, 86–88

Eisner, Michael, 154

electric chair, 119

electricity, alternating current (AC) vs. direct current (DC), 117–19

emotional cascades, 265–78

   gender differences and, 274–76

   romantic relationships and, 277–78

   ultimatum game and, 265–76

emotional priming:

   empathy for plight of others and, 246–48

   ultimatum game and, 268–70

emotions, 43, 237–79

   appeals to, willingness to help others and, 240–42, 248–50, 253–54, 256

   decision making and, 261–77; see also decision making

   in past, humans’ poor memory of, 264

   transience of, 257, 261, 270

   see also empathy; negative feelings, acting on

empathy:

   animals’ suffering and, 249, 252

   apathy toward statistical victims and, 238–41, 242, 246, 247–49, 252–53

   Baby Jessica saga and, 237–38

   calculating vs. emotional priming and, 246–48

   clear moral principles and, 255

   closeness and, 243, 245, 254

   drop-in-the-bucket effect and, 244–45, 252, 254–55

   emotional appeals and, 240���42, 248–50, 253–54, 256

   global warming and, 251–52

   identifiable victim effect and, 239–42, 248, 256

   overcoming barriers to, 252–56

   rules to guide our behavior and, 254–55

   thought experiment of drowning girl and, 242–43, 245

   toward one person vs. many in need, 237–56

   vividness and, 24, 243n, 244, 245

endowment effect, 285, 286

Enron, 216

evolution, mismatch between speed of technological development and, 8–9

experiments, 10–11, 288–95

   business or public policy and, 292–94, 295

   of Gideon, 288–89

   medical practice and, 289–92

   rational economists’ criticisms of, 49–51

   see also specific topics

Exxon Valdez oil spill, 249

F

fairness, sense of:

   in chimpanzees, 127

   decision making and, 266–67; see also ultimatum game

   gender differences and, 275–76

Fallows, James, 158

Farmer, Tom, 140–41, 146, 148–49

FedEx, 108–9

feedback, about work, 74–76

Feeks, John, 118–19

Fehr, Ernst, 125–26

financial incentives:

   meaning of labor and, 72–73, 76

   see also bonuses

financial markets, safety measures for, 7

financial meltdown of 2008, 7, 21, 216

   chronology of events in, 129–30

   desire for revenge in wake of, 128–31

   lack of experimental approach to, 293

   outraged public reaction to bailout in, 128–29, 130

Finkel, Eli, 172–73

First Knight, 50

fixation, pride in creation and ownership and, 89, 122

food:

   animals’ preference for working for, 59–63

   semi-preprepared, 85–88

   shortages of, identifiable victim effect and, 239–41

   see also cooking

Food and Drug Administration (FDA), 292

Ford, Henry, 78–79, 94

Forgea (white terrier), 249

Fox, Michael J., 254

“Fox and the Grapes, The” (Aesop), 198–99

Frank, Barney, 41

Frankl, Viktor, 45

free food, animals’ preference for working for food vs., 60–62

Frenk, Hanan, 161–65, 300

Friends, ultimatum game and, 269, 270–71, 272

frog experiment, 157–58

Frost, Jeana, 219–20, 229, 300

Fryer, Bronwyn, 148

furniture, do-it-yourself, 83–84, 96, 105, 106

future, foreseeing adaptation to changes in, 160, 171–74

G

gardening:

   children growing food and, 121

   enjoyment factor and, 105–6

gender differences:

   assortative mating and, 209, 211

   decision making and, 274–76

   pain threshold and tolerance and, 168–69

Gideon, 288–89

global warming, 158, 251–52

Gneezy, Ayelet, 135, 144–45, 150, 300–301

Gneezy, Uri, 21, 44, 301

Gore, Al, 158, 252

government policies, experimental approach to, 292–94, 295

H

happiness:

   comparisons to other people and, 189

   consumer purchases and, 175, 185–88

   inaccurate predictions about, 170–71

   return to baseline of, 170

   transient vs. constant experiences and, 187–88

Harvard Business Review (HBR), 147–49

health care, see medical care

hedonic adaptation, 160–84

   to annoying experiences, 177–79, 180

   author’s personal history and, 181–84, 189

   blindness and, 172–74

   breaking up experiences and, 177–81

   changes in workers’ pay and, 169–70

   comparisons to other people and, 189

   consumer purchases and, 175, 185–88

   extending pleasurable experiences and, 176–78, 179–81, 185, 186

   in future, foreseeing of, 160, 171–74

   happiness baseline and, 170

   life-altering injuries and, 171–72, 174

   moving to California and, 176

   new houses and, 168–69

   pain and, 160–67

   romantic breakups and, 172–73

   to transient vs. constant experiences, 187–88

   using our understanding of, 176–81, 184–90

hedonic disruptions, 177–81

hedonic treadmill, 175

Heingartner, Alexander, 45–46

Henry, O., 98

herding, 262

   see also self-herding

Herman, Edward, 45–46

Hippocrates, 82

Hogerty, Megan, 81

homeostatic mechanisms, 81

Hong, James, 201, 203

HOT or NOT study, 201–5, 208

   gender differences in, 209, 211

   Meet Me feature and, 204–5, 208, 209

humor, sense of, 199, 200, 207, 208, 228

Hurricane Katrina, 250, 251

I

ideas:

   attachment to, see Not-Invented-Here (NIH) bias

   idiosyncratic fit and, 111–12

identifiable victim effect, 239–42, 248, 256

   American Cancer Society and, 241–42

identity, connection between work and, 53–55, 79

idiosyncratic fit, ideas and, 111–12

ignoring workers, 74–76

IKEA, 83–84, 106

IKEA effect, 83–106

   author’s creations in rehabilitation center and, 100–101

   completion of project and, 101–4, 105

   do-it-yourself furniture and, 83–84, 96, 106

   effort expended and, 89, 90, 95–96, 105–6

   four principles in, 104–5

   and lack of awareness of overvaluation, 99

   Legos experiment and, 96, 97

   Local Motors cars and, 88, 89

   Not-Invented-Here (NIH) bias and, 109–10, 121

   origami experiments and, 91–94, 97, 98–99, 102–4

   parents’ overvaluation of their children and, 97–98

   practical implications of, 121–22

   relaxation notion and, 105–6

   removal of individual customization and, 96

   semi-preprepared food and, 85–88

   shoe design and, 95, 96

immediate gratification, 5

Inconvenient Truth, An, 252

initiation into social groups, 89

injuries:

   association of pain with getting better after, 166–67

   author’s dating prospects and, 191–96, 210–11

   author’s decisions about his medical care and, 284–88

   author’s personal history related to, 1–4, 13, 107, 160–62, 166–67, 181–84, 189, 191–96, 210–11, 281–88

   battlefield vs. civilian, 167

   foreseeing future after, 160

   life-altering, adaptation to, 160, 171–72, 174

   pain thresholds and tolerance related to severity of, 161–65

Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany, 126–27

insurance products, 233–34

interruptions:

   in pleasant vs. painful experiences, 177–81

   TV commercials and, 181n

   see also phone call interruption experiments

intuitions:

   bonuses and, 36–37

   received medical wisdom and, 289–92

   romantic, 172–73

   testing of, 10n, 288–95

inverse-U relationship, defined, 19

iPods and iPhones, battery replacement in, 141–42

irrationality:

   summary of findings on, 288

   upside as well as downside of, 11–12, 294

irreversible decisions, 285, 286

IT infrastructure, division and meaning of labor and, 77, 79–80

J

Janoff-Bulman, Ronnie, 170

Jensen, Glen, 60–62, 63

Jensen, Keith, 127

Jewish tradition, 254–55

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, 152

Joyless Economy, The (Scitovsky), 188

justice, see fairness, sense of

K

Kahneman, Danny, 32n, 175–76

Kamenica, Emir, 66, 301

Katzenberg, Jeffrey, 154

Kemmler, William, 119

kinship, empathy and, 243

Krishnamurti, Tamar, 172–73

Krzyzewski, Mike, 39

L

labor:

   connection between identity and, 53–55, 79

   contrafreeloading and, 60–63

   economic model of, 55, 62–63, 105

   financial incentives and, see bonuses

   meaning of, see meaning of labor

   overvaluation resulting from, see IKEA effect

   on projects without meaning, 56–57, 63–72

Labyrinth game, 23

Lee, Leonard, 132, 134, 197, 201–2, 301–2

Lee, Sandra, 87–88

leeches, medicinal use of, 290–91

Legos experiments:

   on IKEA effect, 96, 97

   on reducing meaningfulness of work, 66–74, 77, 80

letter-pairs experiment, 74–76, 80

life-altering events, hedonic adaptation and, 170

Life as a House, ultimatum game and, 268, 269, 270, 272, 276

light, adaptation to changes in, 159

Local Motors, Inc., 88, 89

Loewenstein, George, 21, 44, 80–81, 172–73, 197, 201–2, 239–41, 246–48, 302

long-term objectives, short-term enjoyments vs., 4–5

loss aversion, 32–33, 285, 286

lottery winners, hedonic adaptation of, 170, 171

“Love the One You’re With,” 197, 211–12

M

malaria, 250, 251

Man’s Search for Meaning (Frankl), 45

marketing, adaptation and, 158

market mechanisms, 215–16

   dating and, 213–15, 216–17, 220–21, 230–32, 233–35

Marx, Karl, 79

massages, extending pleasure of, 179–80

matchmakers (yentas), 213

Mazar, Nina, 21, 30, 44, 302

McClure, Jessica (Baby Jessica), 237–38

meals, see cooking

meaning of labor, 53–82

   in acknowledged, ignored, and shredded conditions, 74–76

   animals’ preference for working for food and, 59–63

   blogging and, 65

   division of labor and, 77–80

   draining work of meaning and, 55–57, 63–77

   financial incentives and, 72–73, 76

   joy derived from activity and, 71–72

   labor-identity connection and, 53–55, 79

   Legos experiment and, 66–74, 76, 80

   lessons for workplace on, 80–82

   letter-pairs experiment and, 74–76, 80

   “meaning” vs. “Meaning” and, 64

   standard economic view and, 62–63

medical care:

   apologizing for errors in, 152

   author’s personal history related to, 1–4, 166–67, 281–88

   bonuses and, 48–49

   leeches in, 290–91

   long-term objectives and, 4–5

   making decisions about, 284–88

   practitioners’ received wisdom and, 289–92

   preventative health care and, 251, 256

   side effects and, 1–5

Meyvis, Tom, 177–80, 181n

Microsoft, 120n

mind-body duality, 194–96

Mochon, Daniel, 89, 90, 102, 303

Model T, 94

motivation:

   labor-identity connection and, 55–57

   loss aversion and, 32–33

   magnitude of incentive and, 18–21

   meaningless work and, 56–57, 63–76

   overmotivation and, 19–20, 31, 36, 42–43, 46

   social pressure and, 42–46

   Yerkes and Dodson’s experiments with rats and, 18–20, 22, 31, 47

   see also bonuses; meaning of labor

mountaineering, Loewenstein’s analysis of, 80–81

N

negative feelings, acting on, 257–64

   author’s anecdote of, 258–61

   cooling off vs., 257, 261, 279

   effects far into future of, 262–64

   regret for, 257

   romantic relationships and, 277–78

negative feelings, anterior insula activity and, 266–67

Neistat brothers, 141–42

Nelson, Leif, 177–80, 181n

new houses, hedonic adaptation to, 168–69

New Yorker, 120

New York Times, 110, 116

9/11 terrorist attacks, 250, 251

Norton, Mike, 89, 90, 102, 220, 303

Not-Invented-Here (NIH) bias, 107–22

   acronyms and, 120

   Edison’s belief in superiority of DC electricity and, 117–19

   effort expended and, 114–16

   FedEx commercial and, 108–9

   idiosyncratic fit and, 111–12

   IKEA effect and, 109–10, 121

   objective merits of ideas and, 111–12, 117

   organizational cultures and, 119–21

   ownership component of, 111–16

   practical implications of, 121–22

   in scientific research, 117

   at Sony, 120–21

   Twain’s essay and, 107–8, 116

   world problems experiment and, 109–16

O

obesity epidemic, 8

older adults, speed dating for, 229

online dating, 215–35

   improving mechanisms for, 224–30

   learning from market failure of, 233–35

   people reduced to searchable attributes in, 218–19, 221–22, 230

   process of, 217–18

   regular dating compared to, 224–25, 227–28

   Scott’s story and, 222–24

   shortcomings of, 220–21, 230–32, 233–35

   studies on participants’ experiences with, 220–22

   taking human limitations into account in design of, 230–32

   virtual dating approach and, 225–30, 231

   ways consumers can improve experience of, 232

Open Left, 128–29

Opposition, 154

origami experiments, 91–94, 97

   with element of failure, 102–4

   with first-price vs. second-price auctions, 98–99

outsourcing, 146

overvaluation:

   of one’s own ideas, see Not-Invented-Here (NIH) bias

   of self-made goods, see IKEA effect

P

Packing Quarters puzzle, 22–23

pain, 160–67

   of battlefield vs. civilian injuries, 167

   of disease vs. injury, 165–67

   experiments on thresholds and tolerance for, 161–65

   gender differences and, 168–69

paraplegics, hedonic adaptation of, 170

   in future, foreseeing of, 160, 171

Parkinson’s disease, 254

past-based decision making, 262–64, 271–74

   see also self-herding

Paulsen, Henry, 128

Pelosi, Nancy, 128

personal experiences, speaking about, 43

phone call interruption experiments, 135–39

   agent-principal distinction and, 145–46

   apology condition added to, 150–51

physicians:

   apologizing of, 152

   received wisdom and, 289–92

Pillsbury, 86

playing hard to get, 104

pleasurable experiences, slowing down adaptation to, 176–78, 179–81, 185, 186

pleasure, elicited by punishment, 124–26

Potok, Andrew, 172–74

Prelec, Dražen, 66, 259–60, 303

preventative health care, 251, 256

pride of creation and ownership:

   ideas and, see Not-Invented-Here (NIH) bias

   self-made goods and, see IKEA effect

procrastination, 1–5

   long-term objectives vs. short-term enjoyments and, 4–5

   medical side effects and, 1–5

   rational economics and, 5–6

proximity to victim, empathy and, 243, 245

public policy, experimental approach to, 292–94, 295

public speaking, 42–43

punishment, 266

   animals’ urge for, 126–27

   pleasure elicited by, 124–26

R

“Ransom of Red Chief, The” (Henry), 98

rational economics, 5–6

   trust game and, 125, 127

   ultimatum game and, 266, 267

rationalization, 287

Recall Last Three Numbers game, 23, 34

relaxation, enjoyment derived from effort vs., 105–6

restaurants, revenge for bad service in, 144–45

retirement calculators, online, 233

revenge, 123–54

   animals’ urge to punish and, 126–27

   apologies and, 149–51, 152

   desire for, in wake of financial meltdown of 2008, 128–31

   opportunities for, in daily life, 139

   outlets for feelings of, 153

   as part of human nature, 123–26, 153

   passage of time and, 151, 153

   pleasure of punishment and, 124–26

   success stories built on motivation for, 154

   threat of, as effective enforcement mechanism, 124

revenge (cont.)

   ultimatum game and, 275–76

   weak and strong, 136–37

   wise men’s warnings against, 151

   see also customer revenge

risk taking, 188

Roll-up game, 24, 34

romantic relationships:

   canoeing and, 278–79

   emotional cascades and, 277–78

   resilience to breakup of, 172–73

   see also assortative mating; dating

Roosevelt, Franklin Delano, 295

Rwanda, genocide in, 238, 253, 255

S

SAP accounting software, 54, 77

SAT scores, scores on practice tests vs., 42

Schelling, Thomas, 246

Schkade, David, 175–76

Schmalensee, Dick, 259–60

Schweitzer, Albert, 151

scientific research, preference for one’s own ideas in, 117

Scitovsky, Tibor, 188

SeekaTreat, 59–60

self-herding, 262–64, 276

   negative emotions as input for, 263–64

   specific and general versions of, 271–74

   ultimatum game and, 270–74

self-made goods, attachment to, see IKEA effect

senses, adaptive ability of, 158–60

“Sensuous Chocolate Truffles,” Sandra Lee’s recipe for, 87–88

serendipity, enjoyment heightened by, 188

“70/30 Semi-Homemade® Philosophy,” 87–88

Shapiro, Laura, 86

Shaw, Scott, 238

shoes, designing your own, 95, 96

Shore, Zachary, 117

short-term enjoyments, long-term objectives vs., 4–5

Shrek, 154

Simon game, 23, 24, 34

Sinclair, Upton, 38

Singer, Peter, 242n

Sisyphus, myth of, 69

Skinner box, 60–62

Slovic, Paul, 239–41, 246–48

Small, Deborah, 239–41, 246–48

Smith, Adam, 77–78, 79

sneakers, designing your own, 95

social contract, 128

social hierarchy, see assortative mating

social loans, 234

social pressure, 42–46

   anticipatory anxiety and, 45

   cockroach experiment and, 45–46

   public speaking and, 42–43

“Some National Stupidities” (Twain), 107–8

Something from the Oven (Shapiro), 86

Sony, 120–21

sour grapes theory, 198–99, 200, 201, 203

speed dating:

   in experiment on assortative mating and adaptation, 205–10

   for older adults, 229

   standard process of, 206–7

   virtual dating and, 226–27

Spiller, Stephen, 109–10, 303–4

Spock-like state of mind, 231, 246, 247, 248

Stalin, Joseph, 238–39

Stanford University, 37

state of flow, 49

statistical victims, apathy toward plight of, 238–41, 242, 246, 247–49, 252–53

status quo bias, 285, 286

Stills, Stephen, 197, 211–12

stress, 38, 43, 50

   bonus situations and, 31, 32–33, 36, 47, 51

   “clutch” abilities and, 39–41

   loss aversion and, 32–33

striatum, 126

Stringer, Sir Howard, 120

sunk cost fallacy, 287

Surowiecki, James, 120

“survivor” rhetoric, 241–42

Szent-Györgi, Albert, 248–49

T

Talmud, 255

Taylor, Frederick Winslow, 78–79

technological development:

   division and meaning of labor and, 79–80

   mismatch between evolution and speed of, 8–9

Teresa, Mother, 239

Tesla, Nikola, 117

texting, 7–8

   while driving, 6, 7, 8

tickling oneself, 188

Tierney, John, 110

time, passage of:

   hedonic adaptation and, 171–74

   transience of emotions and, 257, 261, 270

   vengeful feelings and, 151, 153

TiVo, 181n

Tomasello, Michael, 127

tooth drilling, adaptation to pain and, 161–62

transient experiences, happiness derived from, 187–88

trust, 127–29, 153

   rebuilding of, neglected in wake of financial meltdown of 2008, 131

trust game, 125–26, 127

   bailout plan from perspective of, 130

tuberculosis, 250, 251

TV commercials, 181n

Tversky, Amos, 32n

Twain, Mark, 107–8, 116, 151

U

ultimatum game, 265–77

   after dissipation of original emotions, 270–71

   gender differences and, 275–76

   incidental emotions introduced into, 268–70

   with participants in role of senders, 271–74

   rational economics and, 266, 267

United Nations (UN), 255

University of Massachusetts Medical School, 152

unpredictability, enjoyment heightened by, 188

V

vacuum cleaner sounds, adaptation to, 177–79

vagueness, empathy and, 244

Vanderbilt, Cornelius, 154

Viégas, Fernanda, 225

virtual dating, 225–30, 231

   explanations for success of, 227–30

   speed-dating event and, 226–27

visual system, adaptive ability of, 159

vividness, empathy and, 243n, 244, 245, 254

W

Wachtel, Claire, 65

Wall Street implosion of 2008, see financial meltdown of 2008

Waxman, Henry, 128–29

Wealth of Nations, The (Smith), 77–78

Weckler, Walter, 151

Weiner, Ina, 168–69

Weisberg, Ron, 101

work, see labor

world problems experiment, 109–16

World War II, 167

writing:

   blogging and, 65

   deriving meaning from, 64–65

Y

yentas (matchmakers), 213

Yerkes, Robert, 18–20, 22, 31, 47

Young, Jim, 201, 203

“Yours Is a Very Bad Hotel,” 140–41, 146

Z

Zajonc, Robert, 45–46