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Payoff: The Hidden Logic That Shapes Our Motivations (TED Books) Hardcover – November 15, 2016

by Dan Ariely (Author)
4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 1,158 ratings
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Bestselling author Dan Ariely reveals fascinating new insights into motivation—showing that the subject is far more complex than we ever imagined.

Every day we work hard to motivate ourselves, the people we live with, the people who work for and do business with us. In this way, much of what we do can be defined as being “motivators.” From the boardroom to the living room, our role as motivators is complex, and the more we try to motivate partners and children, friends and coworkers, the clearer it becomes that the story of motivation is far more intricate and fascinating than we’ve assumed.

Payoff investigates the true nature of motivation, our partial blindness to the way it works, and how we can bridge this gap. With studies that range from Intel to a kindergarten classroom, Ariely digs deep to find the root of motivation—how it works and how we can use this knowledge to approach important choices in our own lives. Along the way, he explores intriguing questions such as: Can giving employees bonuses harm productivity? Why is trust so crucial for successful motivation? What are our misconceptions about how to value our work? How does your sense of your mortality impact your motivation?
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  1. Part of series
    TED
  2. Print length
    128 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publisher
    Simon & Schuster/ TED
  5. Publication date
    November 15, 2016
  6. Dimensions
    5 x 0.7 x 7 inches
  7. ISBN-10
    1501120042
  8. ISBN-13
    978-1501120046
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Dan Ariely, James B. Duke Professor of Psychology and Behavioral Economics at Duke University, is a founding member of the Center for Advanced Hindsight. He is the author of Payoff and the New York Times bestsellers Predictably Irrational, The Upside of Irrationality, and The Honest Truth About Dishonesty.

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Payoff

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Simon & Schuster/ TED (November 15, 2016)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 128 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1501120042
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1501120046
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5 x 0.7 x 7 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 1,158 ratings

About the author

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Dan Ariely

Dan Ariely

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Officially, I am the James B. Duke Professor of Psychology & Behavioral Economics at Duke University.

I founded the Center for Advanced Hindsight, wrote a few books, took part in a few media project and startups.

I co-created of the film documentary (Dis)Honesty: The Truth About Lies, and I wrote three-time New York Times bestsellers: Predictably Irrational, The Upside of irrationality, and The Honest Truth About Dishonesty. I also wrote a few books that did not make it to the New York Times bestsellers list: Irrationally Yours, Payoff, Amazing Decisions and Dollars and Sense.

My new book, MISBELIEF: WHAT MAKES RATIONAL PEOPLE BELIEVE IRRATIONAL THINGS began with my own experience being the target of conspiracy theories, but quickly became about a phenomenon that affects all of us. I will use the term misbelief to describe the phenomenon we’re exploring. Misbelief is a distorted lens through which people begin to view the world, reason about the world, and then describe the world to others.

I derive a lot of satisfaction from seeing my work take shape in the real life and I take part in a few companies / startups. Among them are: Lemonade, Shapa, Irrational Capital, BEWorks, Epilog, Timeful, and Irrational Labs.

I am also part of a team that is working on an NBC TV series that is loosely based on my life and will premiere on NBC in the fall of 2023. The show is called “The Irrational” and officially it is based on my first book, Predictably Irrational.

Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
4.2 out of 5
1,158 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Kristin J. Arnold
5.0 out of 5 stars A Short, Interesting, Ted-Talk, Quick Read about Motivation That Makes You Think
Reviewed in the United States on November 22, 2016
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As a general rule, I read just about any book or article written by Dan Ariely. So I was thrilled when I heard about his latest book, Payoff: the Hidden Logic That Shapes Our Motivations. So I pre-ordered it from Amazon and low and behold, it arrived on the day it was published. Interestingly enough, it was published by TEDBooks, an arm of the TEDTalks franchise. (Brilliant business model….extend the life of a TED Talk through a single focus/message book!)

So PAYOFF is based on Ariely’s October 2012 TED Talk, “What Makes Us Feel Good About Our Work?”. It really is a mash-up of previous writings, but I’ll forgive that for now. Payoff is a quick read (2 hours tops – precisely halfway from PHX to EWR), and gives you just enough sense to recognize that motivation is not as straightforward as we would like it to be.

Ariely has a unique gift to blend the academic with rhetoric, providing compelling stories that grab the readers’ attention. His ultimate premise? (Spoiler alert: “To motivate ourselves and others successfully, we need to provide a sense of connection and meaning – remembering that meaning is not always synonymous with personal happiness.”)

It’s the road that leads us to this conclusion that is worth reading – as well as the impact of his words. Within the story, he talks about a group of engineers who were motivated to work on an intense project, only to have the proverbial tablecloth pulled from them. What happens to motivation? Or when a mother calls to have Ariely visit her burn-victim son facing similar challenges he himself faced as a young man. Where’s the motivation to go relive that experience and talk to him?

It’s a compelling short novel-talk that gives you far more insight into what motivates and de-motivates a friend, a family member, a co-worker, or a boss; (hint: it’s not money), and what DOES motivate them. And that’s worth two hours of your time (to read….although to process, it might take a bit more!)
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Steev D. Kelly
4.0 out of 5 stars Great summary of Ariely's work on motivating ourselves and others...
Reviewed in the United States on April 15, 2017
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As with all of Dan Ariely's work, this one is an easy read & completely insightful and interesting. If you've read his other books, blog, articles or seen most of his TED talks & listened to his podcasts & others' interviews w/him - then you've almost certainly heard everything contained within this small book. (I found myself reading the book in his distinct voice in my head). I am a huge fan of Ariely's work, so this book was a concise summary of stuff I've known from before & didn't contain any new information (hence the lacking star). That said, this would be an excellent gift for anyone who is taking on their first leadership/management role or someone who is starting a company & needs a primer/reminder of what it takes to engage and motivate employees.
2 people found this helpful
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Krishna Pendyala
5.0 out of 5 stars A great formula to thrive in our complex world!!! Dan Ariely offers a incredibly motivational mesaage in a tiny package.
Reviewed in the United States on November 15, 2016
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A book that truly touches your soul. I have respected and enjoyed Dan's work for years and did attribute some of his motivation to his accident. Only today, after reading Payoff, was I able to fully appreciate the magnitude of its influence on his life's work.

Not only is the message strong, the presentation is absolutely compelling. I had come back home after getting a haircut and noticed a small package at the door which I opened to find a copy of Payoff. I stood in the driveway and started to read it. I could not put it down. As my legs began to get tired, I went to the backyard, sat on the deck and continued reading.

A hour later, my wife noticed my car in the driveway and came looking for me and wondered what I was up to. Given that my life involved a painful accident followed by years of slow and frustrating recovery, this book spoke to me at a very different level. I finished it in one sitting. Thank you Dan for writing a 103 page book :-)

My hope is that each of you will read this book and gain the insights without having to go through the painful experiences yourself. That has been my mission in life, but it doesn't seem to work very often. I pray that more people will learn from other people's experiences.

Dan Ariely has done an amazing job with Payoff and I wish that many people will use it to achieve peace and joy in their lives.
45 people found this helpful
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Aaron Gabriel
3.0 out of 5 stars Incomplete
Reviewed in the United States on December 7, 2016
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I love Dan Ariely's other works, and this review comes with the basic level of respect due to anyone who begins and finishes a book, on whatever topic.

That said, this feels like a rushed job, either in terms of editing or breadth of research and topics.

The ratio of personal anecdote to useful information is skewed towards anecdote. Also the ratio of observation vs explanation is skewed towards observation. Taking those two things together means the book feels shallow; interesting phenomena of motivation are shown, but ultimately are difficult to apply to real life understanding due to lack of explanation of underlying causes.

Dan Ariely's personal anecdotes in the book are moving and powerful. I would be interested in reading an autobiography. However that is not what this book's title and branding led me to expect.

Perhaps because this is a TED book it should be seen more as a marketing effort for that organization rather than a Dan Ariely seminal work.
8 people found this helpful
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J. Edgar Mihelic, MA, MA, MBA
4.0 out of 5 stars A Gloss
Reviewed in the United States on December 18, 2016
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When I saw that Ariely had another book coming out on social media, I immediately bought it since I am a fan of his work. When I got it, and saw how small it was and that it was branded a TED book, I was a little worried. I feel that the TED talk infrastructure trades on the novelty effect – show something that makes someone say gee-whiz and ignore the complicated understratum that makes up the bulk of a subject. Which is something that happens a bit here, but a 100-page book is better for depth than an 18-minute speech but only just a bit. Overall this is a good introduction to behavioral economics without a lot of overlap with the author’s other works. The framing for looking at “Motivations” works to create a narrative in the book that helps show what we know about what makes people tick. But I would still point people to the author’s other works.
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Top reviews from other countries

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Armando Pena
5.0 out of 5 stars Straight to the point
Reviewed in Mexico on January 9, 2021
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Dan Ariely tajes over one of the "the ultimate questions of life" on an amusing and simple way. Highly recommended
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sidney lee almeida
5.0 out of 5 stars Dinheiro vs Reconhecimento
Reviewed in Brazil on June 7, 2019
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Dan Ariely é sempre provocador em seus livros, trazendo cases e estudos relevantes e muitas vezes divertidos. Neste livro, ele questiona o que realmente motiva o trabalhador. Será o dinheiro o maior motivador?
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Pedro Soveral Rodrigues
5.0 out of 5 stars Sencillo y resumido, pero "straight to the point" y muy útil.
Reviewed in Spain on July 19, 2019
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Despues de haber leeído esto libro, lo ofreci a personas de mi equipo para que accedan a los mismos "insights". Muy bueno.
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Rick Yagodich
5.0 out of 5 stars An insightful study of what drives us
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 30, 2019
Verified Purchase
A nice, short, concise book that encapsulate's Ariely's usual combination of research-backed insight, humour, and highly-readable prose. A good introduction to the complexity of that which drives us, and how we fail, in most cases, to be able to see what's in the mirror.
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Caraway R.
5.0 out of 5 stars Interessante ma purtroppo breve
Reviewed in Italy on August 27, 2017
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Avendo già letto un altro libro dell'autore, ed essendo certa delle sue capacità espositive, ho comprato a scatola chiusa quest'opera, sicuramente interessante ma sfortunatamente troppo breve. Per quanto la materia sia complessa e argomentata in modo coinvolgente, il prezzo appare esagerato rispetto ai contenuti.
One person found this helpful
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