Hoe mensen keuzes maken: De psychologie van het beslissen

The knowledge about how human choices are made has grown considerably in recent years. Fields such as social psychology and brain science are booming, especially in the Netherlands. The very accessible written book How people make choices: the psychology of decision-making gives in more than 100 pages a unique overview of the latest social-psychological insights in this area. In four chapters the ‘limitations’ of the brain are highlighted: – The irrational brain. People often do not follow the rules for logical and rational choices. However, this sometimes leads to even better decisions. – The automatic brain. Our choices are determined by all kinds of unconscious factors, and we often don’t know why we made a certain choice. – The mindless brain. Are we really free to choose? Today, a number of scientists claim that free will does not exist. Are they right? – The social brain. Is man in heart and soul a social being who is really concerned with someone else’s fate? Or is it just a thin layer of civilization? The last chapter examines what the Netherlands would look like if policy-makers made use of these findings when setting out policy. How can people be tempted into a healthier lifestyle? To energy-saving behavior? To sensible financial planning? And maybe it can even do something about the chronic political discontent in people.