As the American economy has cratered, and helped create one of the most imposing and hostile job environments on record for emerging college graduates and young people in general, there have been all sorts of money management titles pop up on video, designed to give the under-40 set and other Millennials more information about how to navigate the choppy investment waters of a refashioned financial market. Emotionally of a piece with these titles is the PBS/NOVA production Mind Over Money — an entertaining and penetrating exploration of why mainstream economists failed to predict the crash of 2008, why we so often personally make irrational financial decisions, and what one can do to avoid common pitfalls and mistakes others make.
Narrated by Lance Lewman, Mind Over Money reveals how our emotions interfere with decision-making, and explores controversial new arguments about the world of finance. Before the current crash, most Wall Street analysts believed that markets are, to bottom-line it, “efficient” — that investors are reasonable and always operate in their own economic self-interest. Most of the time, these assumptions of classical economics work well enough. But in extreme situations, people panic and conventional theories collapse. In the face of the recent crash, can a new science that aims to incorporate human psychology into finance — behavioral economics — serve as a more accurate predictor of financial markets?
Mind Over Money chronicles some of this new field’s most compelling experiments, assaying the brains and bodies of Wall Street traders as they buy and sell stocks. One particularly ingenious experiment reveals how an excessive number of spending choices can overwhelm a consumer’s ability to make rational decisions. Through these entertaining real-life experiments, this title demonstrates how mood, decision-making and economic activity are all tightly and irrevocably interwoven.
Housed in a regular plastic Amaray case, Mind Over Money comes to DVD presented in anamorphic widescreen, with an English language stereo track that more than adequately handles the title’s straightforward aural demands. There are unfortunately no supplemental features… nor a lottery ticket. To purchase the DVD, phone (800) PLAY-PBS, or simply click here. If Amazon is totally your thing, meanwhile, click here. B (Movie) D (Disc)