Title: Predictably Irrational - Wikipedia
Headings: Predictably Irrational
Predictably Irrational
Contents
Chapter summary
The Truth about Relativity
The Fallacy of Supply and Demand
The Cost of Zero Cost
Being Paid vs. A Friendly Favor
Emotion in Decision Making
The Problem of Procrastination and Self-control
The High Price of Ownership
The Effect of Expectations
The Power of Placebo
Reception
See also
Notes
References
External links

Content: Perhaps we would get the better deal and even save money if we did not react to free the way we do. Being Paid vs. A Friendly Favor
In chapters 4 and 5, Ariely speaks in great detail of the differences between social norms—which include friendly requests with instant payback not being required—and market norms—which account for wages, prices, rents, cost benefits, and repayment being essential. He also explains how combining the two can create troubling situations. The author comments that people are happy to do things occasionally when they are not paid for them. In fact there are some situations in which work output is negatively affected by payment of small amounts of money. Tests showed that work done as a "favor" sometimes produced much better results than work paid for. For example, some lawyers were asked by AARP to provide needy retirees with services at a cost of about $30. The lawyers did not accept the offer. However, when asked to offer services at no cost, they agreed. Experiments also showed that offering a small gift would not offend anybody (the gift falls into social norms), but mentioning the monetary value of the gifts invokes market norms.