Click “Q&A: Behavioral Economics 101” to read the first post in the series.

Click “5 everyday examples of behavioral economics” to read the second post in the series.

Twenty-four hours in a day adds up, leaving an hour here and there for spare time. How do you spend your free hours?

If you want to learn more about behavioral economics, invest your time well, and have some fun too, we compiled a list for how to do that.

NETFLIX

Watch: on Friday nights in, after work, during a spare free hour 

“Freakonomics”

Runtime: 85 minutes

A documentary film adaptation of the same-named book by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner, this movie explores human behavior using economic case studies. A notable example: Researchers paying 9th graders to get better grades.

“(Dis)Honesty: The Truth About Lies”

90 minutes

Dan Ariely, one of the founding fathers of Behavioral Economics, stars in this 90-minute documentary uncovering why and how we lie. We explored a similar concept, rationalized cheating, in our previous blog post.

PODCASTS

Listen while: commuting, exercising, preparing food, getting ready, doing chores

“Planet Money”

10 to 30 minutes

“Planet Money” brands itself as what you’d hear if you asked a friend to explain the economy to you at a bar, and it was actually fun. If you find yourself more inclined to the psychology side of behavioral economics, this podcast can help you understand economic concepts.

“Hidden Brain”

20 to 50 minutes

“Hidden Brain” explains the underlying reasons we act and think the way we do. A recent episode “Think Fast with Daniel Kahneman” explores behavioral economics with one of the founding fathers of the discipline.

BOOKS

Read: on train rides, in waiting rooms, unwinding before bed

“Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness”

by Cass Sunstein and Richard Thaler

312 pages

Sunstein and Thaler explain liberal paternalism—the idea that institutions can affect behavior while still giving people choices—in this book. These “nudges” have been used to encourage better eating by offering healthy food at eye level, or to get people to be organ donors by having an opt-out donation program.

“Misbehaving: The Making of Behavioral Economics”

by Richard Thaler

432 pages

Published in 2015, “Misbehaving” is part-autobiography, part-history of behavioral economics by Richard Thaler. He builds off of and challenges some of the ideas he developed in “Nudge.” He was the 2017 recipient of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences.

“Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions”

by Dan Ariely

304 pages

Using anecdotes, scientific experiments, and finding, Ariely sets out to “help you fundamentally rethink what makes you and the people around you tick.” He seeks to show how some mistakes are common and repetitious—and how we can avoid them in order to make actual rational choices.

Ready to take the next step? Apply to The Chicago School of Professional Psychology’s Behavioral Economics program today.

Our first blog is a Q&A with Elizabeth Schwab, Psy.D., Associate Department Chair for Business Psychology and Program Chair for Behavioral Economics.

The second post features everyday examples of behavioral economics.