NOVA: Mind Over Money

In the aftermath of the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, NOVA presents “Mind Over Money” — an entertaining and penetrating exploration of why mainstream economists failed to predict the crash of 2008 and why we so often make irrational financial decisions. It’s a show that reveals surprising, hidden money drives in us all and explores controversial new arguments about the world of finance.

Before the current crash, most Wall Street analysts believed that markets are “efficient” — that investors are reasonable and always operate in their own 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 — do better? “Mind Over Money” re-creates some of the new field’s most compelling experiments.

Viewers will see how the brains and bodies of Wall Street traders respond as they buy and sell stocks. They’ll watch as an ingenious experiment reveals how too many spending choices and the way they’re framed can overwhelm consumers’ ability to make rational decisions.

Through these entertaining real-life experiments, NOVA shows how mood, decision-making and economic activity are all tightly interwoven.

By delivering unexpected insights from leading analysts and powerful experiments, “Mind Over Money” exposes the mysterious and surprising nature of the two most powerful forces on our planet: the human mind and money.

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