The Confidence Map

Charting a Path from Chaos to Clarity

By: Peter Atwater

Narrated by: Peter Atwater

A groundbreaking framework for making better decisions by understanding–and mastering–confidence.

What does our desire for certainty and control have to do with our decision-making? According to behavioral economics pioneer Peter Atwater, the answer is simple: everything.

In The Confidence Map, Atwater explores the hidden role of confidence in the choices we make, and why events described as being unprecedented are often entirely predictable—if we know what to look for.

Using compelling stories from the past and present, Atwater shows listeners how to apply the same tools he teaches the world’s leading institutional investors, corporations, and policymakers to help them make sense of complex situations and optimize strategy.

You will learn:

• How psychological distance consistently affects the choices we make

• Why "Me-Here-Now" decision-making is such a powerful force

• What happens at confidence peaks that leads to our downfall

• The five ways we respond to extreme vulnerability

• When consumers' feelings of certainty and control—not price—drive demand

The Confidence Map is a book about why we do what we do, where we can and cannot trust our natural instincts, and how we can make sense of a world that too often feels senseless.

Whether you’re investing in technology stocks, designing menu items for a fast-food franchise, or running an emergency room, Atwater offers an all-weather guide to avoid psychological traps, spot opportunities, and navigate the road ahead with clarity and purpose.

* This audiobook edition includes a downloadable PDF of images and figures from the book.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2023 Peter Atwater (P)2023 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

“A rare and beautiful look at what happens in our heads when we try to make sense of the world.”—MORGAN HOUSEL, author of The Psychology of Money and Same as Ever

“Insightful and original, The Confidence Map explores how our feelings of certainty and control affect every choice we make and every risk we take. Atwater has made an important contribution to understanding the underappreciated influences that affect our decisions. Readers will use this fresh perspective to become more resilient in the face of uncertainty.”—MICHELE WUCKER, author of The Gray Rhino and You Are What You Risk

“Atwater’s way of thinking and plotting the world in The Confidence Map is highly contagious. It’s easy to use it to make sense of new shocks and opportunities.”—MICHAEL P. REGAN, Senior Markets Editor, Bloomberg Businessweek

Phenomenal listen

This book is an absolute gem! What an incredible framework for all aspects of life.

Terrific

A valuable resource with unique insights for investors and speculators. The book delivers. Highly recommend

A map to gauge you

This book has wonderful examples of stories on how low and high confidence affects your life and those around you. How we as a community have a collective level of confidence is enlightening. So many great nuggets to carry with me for the rest of life.

Excellent book

The author does a good job reading his own work. You can listen at 1.5 times speed without difficulty.
Well worth your time and I took away many things I can use

Great tools for an important topic

This was a great audiobook with a number of useful frameworks for thinking about the role that confidence plays in investing, business, and our personal lives. The Confidence Quadrant, five Fs, and Horizon Preference are easy concepts to put to use in a number of contexts.

More original and innovative than it should be!

What a shockingly and original take on psychology as it relates to crisis, companies, and markets, it should be required reading in any leadership or project management course. What's most surprising is how intuitive the concepts seem in retrospect yet how absent they are in practice and group consciousness... thank you for the great read/listen.

An insightful path to better decision-making

Informative, challenging, yet easy to understand, Atwater's book was a treat to read. As a former student of Atwater's, I was so excited to see the topics we discussed in class distilled into a book. Beyond this, however, I gained many new insights into viewing the events both in my own life and in the world more broadly. I am grateful to Atwater for constantly challenging people's intuitions and for promoting novel ways to improve decision-making. Would recommend this book to anyone.

Great book!

Behavioral finance, over confidence, stress, comfort and fear. It is all discussed in Peter Atwater's terrific book - The Confidence Map. Well worth a listen. I know I will be listening to this one again!

Torturing events from his singular perspective into a academic theory

Stretching a shallow narrative into a theory and a book
Peter tries to interpret major events From his narrow perspective
It appears he has his own confidence, problem, and pursue consulting and teaching to stay well inside his comfort zone