Dr. Rom Brafman is a professor of psychology, a practicing therapist who sees patients in Palo Alto, and the co-author of a new book, “SWAY: The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior.”

His talk was about why we make irrational decisions. One reason is “loss aversion” which means we are adverse to loss, especially as it relates to money -- our intensity at a financial loss is 2½  times greater than our intensity at a gain, or a joyful experience.  We do not like taking on a loss, such as in the stock market, or when selling a home.  How can we avoid this loss aversion? Be aware of it. Don’t lose perspective of how it fits into the big picture of your life.
People have two opposite feelings: happy and sad. We cannot feel both at the same time.
Americans are fair people. We tend to think splitting something 50/50 is the right thing to do. Other cultures don’t necessarily think this way.
Should people always be rational? No! This can make us cold, but we need to keep things in perspective. We tend to put more effort into little things rather than into big decisions, but when deciding something hugely important for our lives, it is good to talk to others, not panic, and calmly consider what is at risk.