How You Decide: The Science of Human Decision Making

By: Ryan Hamilton, The Great Courses

Narrated by: Ryan Hamilton

People have always been fascinated by how the mind works. Thousands of times each day, we are presented with choices that require decisions: from what to wear each day to where to live. Over millennia philosophers, theologians, and mathematicians have all weighed in on how we make decisions, and in recent centuries economists, psychologists, and sociologists have joined this investigation. Some of these past theories are essentially aspirational, describing decision making as it should be, not as it often is.

This course provides a different view. In How You Decide: The Science of Human Decision Making, Professor Ryan Hamilton, associate professor of marketing at Emory University's Goizueta Business School, uses research revealed via the scientific method to understand and explain human decision making. While his easygoing manner and anecdotes about surprising and bizarre choices will keep you enthralled, Professor Hamilton also shares what decision science has revealed through empirically tested theories that make falsifiable predictions and lead to testable hypotheses. Based on the outcomes of his own published experiments and those of his colleagues, Dr. Hamilton presents information that allows you to better understand the choices you face every day, the tools you can use to make the best decisions for your personal goals, and how to most effectively influence the decisions of others.

Throughout this course, you'll examine complex and seemingly simple decisions and see the factors that play into both. You'll understand the pitfalls of routines that have become such a part of life that they obscure the decision making process and learn how the memory of a song or joke heard years ago can have an effect on a decision being made today.

Dr. Hamilton emphasizes the complex nature of human beings and the many environmental, physical, and emotional aspects of life that can impact any specific decision at any given moment.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©2016 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2016 The Great Courses

Ryan Hamilton Makes This A Good Decision

What did you love best about How You Decide: The Science of Human Decision Making?

Ryan Hamilton. Great delivery. Passionate about material and entertaining subtle sense of humor.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Ryan Hamilton

What does Professor Ryan Hamilton bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Adds a lot of color with some subtle sarcasm and humor.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Enjoyed it from start to finish.

Any additional comments?

I will buy anything else narrated by Ryan Hamilton.

Good mix of psychology and marketing.

Great stuff. The narration was clear and humorous. The bentmd of psychology and marketing made for an overall entertaining listen.

great for starters or as a refresher

covers everything so far discovered regarding decision making. eventually, I hope stuff like this will be mandatory in education, but until then, please listen, share, and understand the big and small things that influence your "free will" every day

Very applicable and entertaining

Excellent coverage of the topic with examples from the wild. Will definitely change my marketing tactics.

Intriguing Course -10/10 Recommend

I liked the idea of this course because I was looking to eliminate stagnant time in my days when I was not learning something new; however, had no idea I’d love this course this much. I listened to it almost all day everyday -while cleaning, driving to school, working on busywork homework, and running. These lectures were quite thorough but never boring. The topics are presented with a sort of relatability that makes them all the more intriguing and convincing. I’d recommend this course to all levels of psychology enthusiasts (or just curious minds like mine). By the end of the course you’re sure to be obsessed. Have fun analyzing every decision made from this point on!