Book Reading #46 - Why We Make Mistakes

Chapter 6: We’re in the Wrong Frame of Mind

Summary:

In chapter 6, author Hallinan talks about our perception of various things and how we look at different things with different paradigms. He also talks about how external factors like music can influence our behavior. In one of the examples he talks about how buyers make decisions based on the music being played and the odor present in the stores. He talks about multi unit pricing, for example, if tagged as 5 for $5, people tend to buy more. In one of the examples, he mentions an experiment where people choose a wine to be the best just because it was tagged with the highest price. This was to prove a point that we have a perception that an expensive item is usually of the best quality.

Discussion:

What really makes this book interesting to read are a lot of apt examples. The examples provided by the author perfectly suit the context and emphasize the point that the author is trying to make. After reading a few examples I realized that I also show similar behavior for example, picking up more number of items when they are tagged with mutli-unit price. We don't realize, but our perceptions about different things are quite distorted.

Chapter 7: We Skim

Summary:

In this chapter, the author points out how we skim over the material presented to us. We don't really read a book when we are fast-reading nor do we really pay close attention to details, like a persons facial features and other minute details. We just skim over the overall picture and get a general idea. The author also mentions that our behavior is influenced by context. In one of the examples he provides, he mentions an experiment in which the users were asked to memorize words above and under water.

Discussion:

I completely agree with the author when he says "We Skim". We are required to read a lot of books for this class and most of the times, I skim. Since most people in the class skim over the material being presented, they have a general idea about the content in the book, they get the message but only a rare few remember the details, like the numbers and dates.