Our buggy moral code | Dan Ariely

www.ted.com Behavioral economist Dan Ariely studies the bugs in our moral code: the hidden reasons we think it's OK to cheat or steal (sometimes). Clever studies help make his point that we're predictably irrational -- and can be influenced in ways we can't grasp.
TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes. Featured speakers have included Al Gore on climate change, Philippe Starck on design, Jill Bolte Taylor on observing her own stroke, Nicholas Negroponte on One Laptop per Child, Jane Goodall on chimpanzees, Bill Gates on malaria and mosquitoes, Pattie Maes on the "Sixth Sense" wearable tech, and "Lost" producer JJ Abrams on the allure of mystery. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design, and TEDTalks cover these topics as well as science, business, development and the arts. Closed captions and translated subtitles in a variety of languages are now available on TED.com, at www.ted.com/translate
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[@ditjedatje9741]

I was in the hospital for a very long time too. The first 3 months they put me to sleep while they changed the bandage. After that they would set me in a bath and soaked until it would let go. Time consuming I klnow, but when I hear you say they ripped it off, I cringed and felt so grateful. I know how bad it is when they just rip it off, because one time the doctor did it instead of the nurses.. horrible. For you it must have been truly torture. Amazing to see you up there strong and unbroken.

[@beastmry]

+Ditje Datje That's cause Dan Ariely is the greatest human alive!

[@yuricastellobranco]

beastmry why you say he is the great human alive?

[@yuricastellobranco]

Ditje Datje why they dont give THC for patients? is like morfine but there is no adiction or colateral efects...

[@thorkrynu4551]

@@yuricastellobranco the pain levels are so high getting put to sleep sounds like the best plan

[@911operations6]

I am a burn survivor as well, being in the hospital for a long time just simply falls on how much do people care about the job they are doing. I had nurses that had what alot of you are saying here, "time is Money", but through out the screaming during bandage changes I had many nurses that did exactly what Dan said, prolonged pain with breaks, those were the nurses that understood and cared about there job. I commend those peoples

[@kirkgarcia]

I know but this video is not about nurses pulling bandages out of burned people's bodies. It was used just as an example in a tiny part of the speech. I think you didn't understand the point of this video. Your comment is irrelevant

[@johnathoncandelario9867]

Dan is truly brilliant. As he draws from his experiences I can understand the notion of what people may model as correct may be completely and utterly incorrect empirically speaking. His pursuit of knowledge and great sense of humor makes him one of the best TED speakers of all time.

[@ishitvvats2044]

did not age well

[@sarumate91]

One of the best TED talks I've ever heard.

[@meganmusa6663]

Amazing video. This gentlemen is amazing.

[@AyushPandit]

Amazing Ted talk!

[@AGPEcko]

Still one of my favourite TEDtalks. Really really great guy.

[@benjaminzubaly1873]

He’s actually a fraud. He fabricated data.

[@billybarnes6961]

@@benjaminzubaly1873 so..he cheated? LOL ironic

[@tonybyrne2766]

Was new to me. Great insight, Dan.

[@AlkisGD]

"What internet are you from" he says xD That line had me in stitches x'D

[@ik04]

Nice , clean presentation with an interesting subject and almost no personal bias. Finally!

[@benjaminzubaly1873]

Actually, he is a fraud. He fabricated this research data. Look it up.

[@dcrcoonghe1]

he is so pleasing to listen to

[@fordcredit84]

I always enjoy Dan Ariely's talks. smart and scientific yet practical.

[@benjaminzubaly1873]

He fabricated his data.

[@eLurkr]

this is an old but great talk

[@zuppers]

Awesome talk.

[@xrotarebil]

I have read this guy's book. He's an awesome writer.

[@DinanEX]

I love TED talks

[@AlanMcCrindle]

Dan's final comments" - Just think how much better my life would have been if the nurses listened to my intuitions"? - well maybe if the nurses did what Dan intuited he would never had ended up persuing this path of behavioral economics

[@tdurran]

That's a fascinating talk.

[@kaaajeee]

i wonder whether there is an option of adding subtitles in my mother language to spread some of these talks among my people. i would happily translate it myself.

[@ankam6472]

I've just thought the same :) and foud this - www.ted.com/participate/translate

[@Bluemann]

Good Talk

[@wushish]

Very intriguing

[@naybobdenod]

Excellent

[@TheDHEL13]

Love it!

[@JayBlueToYou]

Very interesting/ This is one of the good ones.

[@mtdeezy]

That's an awesome point.

[@hsgrain490]

I wonder how this compares to experiments done ten, twenty years ago? Do the results change with the state of the country / world? A good vid.

[@isaacsoffer8530]

They've been performing cohort studies for that interest. They study groups of people based on cohort, then they compare it to previous generations/cohorts and see how it changes.

[@TempestTossedWaters]

I read his book, forgot about it, randomly stumbled on this video and realized it's him.

[@colinm.3419]

"...three years later when I left the hospital..." 2:02 I sure hope he had a good book to read...

[@HeavyMetalMouse]

It is generally taken as a baseline assumption, by those who deal in scientific thought and research, that holding beliefs up to experiment is the core of what science is about. The final statement seemed not so much to be suggesting that people don't generally -want- to examine their intuitions for whatever reason, but a reinforcing that putting those intuitions under examination *is* the best course of action, regardless of how intuitive a person you are. It is always better to have evidence.

[@freezman13]

Good talk , very interesting

[@Crazyrat84]

Oh yeah! That's right, I remember it now :) Thank you for kickstarting my brain. ^^

[@sarumate91]

Any specific recommendations?

[@Serpreme]

Good video, even if just higher res version.

[@nonchalantd]

Yeah, I loved the concept of the movie.

[@Neanderthalcouzin]

No I mean Universities have an independent ethics process. It's where you submit your research proposal and if the ethics committee think it's okay (i.e. it isn't too cruel or questionable) they say okay. Universities have a MAJOR liability in that they have a conveyor belt of never-ending research occurring, and they need to be very safe to avoid being sued, or just being negligent or allowing inappropriate research. Having dealt with ethics committees, I'm genuinely interested how he did it.

[@RocknCorruptrepublic]

Isn't this the neuromarketing blogger dude? :D I love behavioral economics... actually Morgan Spurlock's TED Talk got me more into it. haha.

[@Nameless3567]

I think the pain that nurses inflicted on him ultimately paid off. BTW I read Dan's book and it was really thought provoking. What he has presented in his talk is a short summary in fact iota of the book. Human have irrational behaviour that is something we unknowingly do but he made us realize about that via empirical method and really intelligent experiment. I am really thankful to him for coming up with such great work. :)

[@mindsprawl]

I thought this would be crap, but it was really good.

[@nonchalantd]

There's a movie about that entitled "In Time."

[@Suertsje]

thanks :)

[@2010sunshine]

👍👌 Very interesting topic

[@Internet151]

I remember seeing this before too.

[@xabcx]

True. But I also think there's the pain of the nurses to consider as well. I don't think any nurse enjoys inflicting pain upon a patient, and I think the action of having to cause an extended amount of pain hurts a persons psyche far more than a momentary lunge. Just my 2c.

[@cyan_oxy6734]

Anastasia is always an option though.

[@krombopulos_michael]

depends on the video. TED talks usually are decent for debates.

[@saadasim]

It would be interesting to do this test on cheating in different countries and different cultures.

[@InYourLostEyes]

I love that movie!

[@moscowboy3994]

Did anyone after watching all these great Dan's videos understand what was actually the practical way to use this anecdotal theory? I mean we all like these wow moments about unexpected research results and we think "wow, these guys must know some OTHER way to make people do this and not that and probably have a magic pill". But in reality Dan Ariely does two things: 1) he tries to prove his main statement that people more often behave irrationally 2)Tells success stories when somebody did something not obvious to those irrational people and it worked miracles. Cool, right? But, in fact, here and there Dan says that they, whoever they it was, did this or that based solely on research, which means testing several ideas, approaches etc. I suspect that this means these researchers didn't know in advance what results they would get - Dan admits it himself. I personally quite like this entertaining look at things Dan is preaching, but eventually it comes to one thing: does he or anyone from his team has any other weaponry than constant testing different ideas? What does this brilliant theory adds to the testing process that has been on the marked for ages? I honestly don't see any "meat" behind all this or the reason I should hire this guys opposed to hiring any other good marketing team doing research and testing. Could anyone prove me wrong? I would be only glad. P.S. Pls don't try to "talk me into it" - just show me a practical 1-2-3-benefit method, if there's one.

[@shadywalker2159]

Word, I second that.

[@ongelvin]

Hmm... reminds me of small exaggerations on resumes.

[@TheaDragonSpirit]

Very much liked this video :-)

[@nonchalantd]

Part of the reason why the nurses didn't want to remove the bandages slowly was because it would have taken longer. Also, many people in healthcare have a toughness mentality where they try to convince themselves and their patients to be mentally tough and persevere in the face of adversity.

[@strangersinlondon_]

Nurses from my part of the world are trained to listen to patients and collaborate with them regarding their care. #justsayin

[@gulllars]

Yes, he did. He talked about the same things. I wonder if this is a re-upload.

[@AjsLilBro]

Dan Ariely asks, Are we in control of our decisions? Dan Ariely: Why we think it's OK to cheat Dan Ariely: Beware conflicts of interest

[@renjinkat]

gold

[@frankbrown6124]

Fantastic speech. I want to elaborate on intuition though as I have found that intuition can be improved by checking it against your logic. Balancing those to forces of thought leads to more accurate intuitive thoughts and actions.

[@frankbrown6124]

Logic is only half of a whole. You have to be able to trust your instincts and know yourself which logic doesn't help with. Think of when someone is staring at you without your knowing and you feel that vibe of being watched. That is intuitive processes instead of logic. The logic comes in the reflection of how you knew you where being watched.

[@Letrus100]

+Frank Brown The your Intuition your talking about is simply the relation of past events to future ones. You are really using logic not intuition.

[@Letrus100]

I'm not sure I understand you. I was just saying what most people think is intuition is really the relation of previously held knowledge to future events and not the literal definition of intuition.

[@Gouldsonuk]

Just had to sight Ariely in my Economics Dissertation. Weird to put a name to a face.

[@TheLivirus]

Great talk. He really put his finger on what I think is the key problem with modern politics. CEOs across the globe in charge of a successful companies spend fortunes on generating information on which to make informed decisions and thereby reduce risk. ...but when it comes to a President of an entire nation, basing positions on intuition is suddenly the norm. Statistics, studies and facts are only acknowledged and applied if they are compatible with the intuition. It's so dumb.

[@Riverdale270]

He has two videos here if I remember correctly...

[@ChristopherJManess]

Things that make you go, "hmm".

[@ManintheArmor]

"Time is money", an all too familiar phrase. Then it makes me think, what if Time became a currency?

[@Crazyrat84]

Hmm, am I wrong or have Dan Ariely talked on a TED-talk befor? I remember this.

[@victoryang2094]

Have you ever stared into the sky and noticed a bunch of little dots swirling around🤔

[@rhyswilliams7376]

Hey guys just wondering if someone can help me? I need to answer these two questions for uni and can't be fucked to do it. a) Some factors that influence people to cheat more? b) What causes people to cheat less? Thanks, boys.

[@ShadoFXPerino]

maybe the bandages had to be removed quickly or other patients would die from neglect?

[@renjinkat]

it amazes me both the quality of his talks and the low amount of views his talks gets in comparison to other TedTalks

[@benjaminzubaly1873]

Probably a good thing. He fabricated research data.

[@shreychhabra1925]

is there written text of this speach anywhere?

[@TheAnnoyingGunner]

+Shrey Chhabra www.ted.com/talks/dan_ariely_on_our_buggy_moral_code/transcript

[@shreychhabra1925]

thanks..

[@George4943]

Random thoughts I get from this. We are more forgiving of our in-group than of any out-group. . . . When I see someone with whom I rub shoulders cheat just a little I forgive him. . . . When he cheats a lot, though, oh my! Now he reflects badly on me by association. Throw him out. . . . This guy likes me so much he will give me money for my campaign. I'll cheat just a little, like all my colleagues, and pay him back with earmarks. . . . Crony Capitalism. . . . Market Manipulators. . . .

[@DixyRae]

[citation needed]

[@TheaDragonSpirit]

0:15

[@davidkui311]

i think they reposted this talk because of Dan Ariely's new book

[@USMerchantMarineCaptainVic]

Merchant Mariners LUV our buggy moral code.

[@KnasiTaket]

Why are they reposting videos? I do love a bit of Dan Ariely though

[@honeymonster147]

*moves eyes one inch to the left..* yep your right

[@HakendaNatan]

good

[@DazraelArianos]

This guy doesn't seem to understand the obvious answer to the bandage removal choice by the nurses. The faster they finish with you, the faster they finish their required duties, and they can spend more time on break.

[@Caine61]

A PERSONAL FUDGE FACTOR

[@wushish]

I think the real reason behind the nurses decision is that it simply took less of their time. It sounds harsh but it's their job to get things like this and when you have multiple patients you try and get things done as quickly as possible.

[@Sixthfred]

Man , people really need to associate themselves with more TED videos . Theres videos only viewed in such amounts ~

[@RTX94]

I find it interesting how most TED speakers are Ivy-League graduates.

[@mmarkusgaming]

12:20 remind me of *Abu Ghraib prison* when the CIA got away with killing a person, suddenly torturing detainees was became a lighter -normal thing; (..and on the top of that there was complete anonimity & sleep deprivation)

[@TheFireflyGrave]

Great idea and presentation. But I wouldn't qualify fudging from 4 correct answers to 7 (on average) to be just a little bit of cheating; that's fudging your results by 75%!

[@alexanderwaters3454]

Hmmm but people when they really mean to cheat will cheat a lot more than that :/

[@Letrus100]

+TheFireflyGrave It was out of 20 questions though.

[@birchpc]

TheFireflyGrave no it's %15 more

[@rosemacaskie]

I knew a person who said that the honest or kind were vain people, people who were too vain to do the necessary to help their family, etc. that is how you teach your children to be dishonest to be mafia type people. I was breath taken, and and scared, here was a person who could make me look bad whatever i did.

[@owenkilleen]

his reason is so right

[@stephentsang2000]

I respect your "opinion", despite it's self-contradictory.

[@Suertsje]

yes, he has

[@stephentsang2000]

Thank you~ That makes exactly my point. We sales people are better than these so-called scientists in understanding human beings immoral behaviors.

[@collinmichael4307]

He looks like a cross between Roman and Nikko Bellic:-)

[@DeoMachina]

TEDtalks make me misanthropic

[@rotnakleugim]

Repost?

[@AmaziinqVids]

you should test that

[@TesserId]

I'd like to see and experiment with people paid to cheat over nine sessions and then not paid to cheat on the tenth.

[@entertain_myself]

irrationalities are everywhere and depend on everyone's intuition. #12 TED

[@komododr]

Stealing money!? Wow that's what my kid did on 1 of his games.

[@Joachim1010]

Maybe the nurses don't have so much time to spend with one patient?

[@ozgeozcelik8921]

The Brain is a statistical engine, as Adam Kepecks said...

[@ambujarind1991]

they really think that quick is better.. they think it's for the good of the patients.. i had the same experience.. quick and intense is better than slow and prolonged according to them.. even doctors, when they have all day do the same thing, do the same.. it's very easy to think that way.. i saw a survey of common people, not doctors or nurses, showed a 50-50 split about this question..

[@reafdaw01]

He has two talks and this is a re-upload.

[@Orsbore]

What? This is reuploaded? Whoa, that means TEDtalks is cheating!

[@organdva]

This is what anarchists are always talking about: give workers control of their firm and they will act responsibly.

[@beatlewood]

I notice this speaker received a standing ovation and the "texting" speaker did not. Is it because he visually placed a heart wrenching photo at the end of his burned body and the "texting" speaker didn't put a photo of the girl being raped by her father? Both speakers equally appealed to me, just an observation.