Misbelief

What Makes Rational People Believe Irrational Things

By Dan Ariely, bestselling author of Predictably Irrational

HarperCollins (2023)

The renowned social scientist, professor, and bestselling author of Predictably Irrational delivers his most urgent and compelling book—an eye-opening exploration of the human side of the misinformation crisis—examining what drives otherwise rational people to adopt deeply irrational beliefs. 

Utilizing the latest research, Ariely reveals the key elements—emotional, cognitive, personality, and social—that drive people down the funnel of false information and mistrust, showing how under the right circumstances, anyone can become a misbeliever.

“In this thoughtful, moving, and well-written book, Dan Ariely narrates his personal and professional journey to understand the world of misbelievers and conspiracy theories, and offers insights and tips that will hopefully help all of us protect our fragile social fabric from being torn apart by disinformation and distrust.” 

— Yuval Harari, bestselling author of Sapiens

“Once again Dan Ariely writes in a way that gets us to think and reflect about our human nature. In Misbelief, he helps us understand the nature of our opinions, how they’re formed, and how the forces of misinformation can distort them. This is an important book for those who want to understand themselves and the increasingly complex world around us.”

— Arianna Huffington, founder and CEO of Thrive Global 

“For most of us it is tempting to think that people misbelieve things because they are uneducated, unintelligent, or misinformed. But as one of the world’s leading scientists studying beliefs, Dan Ariely, convincingly demonstrates in this important book—and as he discovered firsthand in being wrongly accused of leading a nefarious conspiracy!—misbelief is a process to which any of us can fall prey. More important, he offers science-based suggestions on what we can do about the polarization and breakdown in trust that comes with misbelief.” 

— Michael Shermer, publisher of Skeptic magazine and author of Conspiracy: Why the Rational Believe the Irrational