Is Giving Gifts Irrational?

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The purpose of a gift isn't to transfer resources, it's often to show people how much you care and how much you love them. The counterpoint is registering for a wedding. It's sort of a tasteful way of letting people give cash, but pretending that they're giving a gift. And of course, newlyweds desperately need cash. They don't need the seventh crockpot.

Do psychologists know anything? Psychologist Paul Bloom says yes--but not the things that you might think. Bloom discusses his book Psych with EconTalk's Russ Roberts and what the field of psychology can teach us about human intelligence, consciousness, and unhelpful instincts. They also discuss just how far psychology is from a true understanding of the human mind, and why, according to Bloom, that might not be such a bad thing.