The Rational Animal

“Kenrick is one of evolutionary psychology's alpha males, a grizzled veteran of many battles against the Blank Slate dogma. Griskevicius is the field's most brilliant and productive young star, whose ingenious research proved the transformative power of Darwinism for understanding business and marketing. Together, they make a fascinating, compelling, and fun case that people's decision-making embodies a deep evolutionary rationality rather than a superficial economic rationality. It you want to take the Red Pill and really understand what is going on in modern consumerist capitalism—if you want to dive deeper into our paleo-rationality than Dan Ariely or Daniel Kahneman have dared to go, you must read this book.”
—Geoffrey Miller, University of New Mexico, and author of The Mating Mind and Spent

“Do you want to understand all kinds of human judgment errors that seemed inexplicable before? And do you want to be able to profit handsomely from that new and deep form of understanding? Then don't miss the profound insights of this groundbreaking book.”
—Robert B. Cialdini, author of Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion

“The Rational Animal is a fun romp through the comedy of human errors. Again and again, the authors find, evolutionary urges and hardwired brains explain behaviors rational economists cannot. Humans just don't make sense, it seems, unless you expect them not to.”
—Mother Jones

“[An] entertaining and informative book.”
—Minneapolis Star-Tribune

“A persuasive—and entertaining—look at the Darwinian dynamics of decision making.”
—Booklist

“Vigorously investigated.... Sharp, piquant science/behavioral-economics writing.”
—Kirkus Reviews

“Why do we overspend, underinvest, and make seemingly poor decisions? The Rational Animal shows that the answer comes from a simple, but often overlooked place: Our animal ancestors. Whether we like it or not, evolution has shaped who we are today. But rather than making us foolishly irrational, looking deeper inside ourselves reveals a surprisingly brilliant beast.”
—Jonah Berger, author of Contagious: Why Things Catch On