Price Confusion

Research finds that customers have, ironically, a harder time choosing between similar products (e.g. cereal) if the products are priced the same.When prices were different, products were seen as similar, making it easier to select one product. But identical prices made the products seem less similar.

Pricing Emotions

British & Hong Kong students chose how much they'd spend (£10 - £150), for 1 hour, to enjoy positive emotions or avoid negative emotions.

British students paid more for positive emotions: love was most valued (£95), then happiness, then avoiding sadness ... disgust was the least valued emotion to avoid (£43). Hong Kong students valued experiencing positive emotions = to avoiding negative. Head-to-head, Brits paid more for "happiness, delight and calm"; Hong Kong students paid more to "avoid regret, embarrassment and frustration."

Researchers noted, "By putting price-tags on emotions we might come closer to understanding the value of human experience in order to aid policies at enhancing well-being."

Price Affects Taste

20 subjects were given 5 wines and rated the same wine better when told it was more expensive. Really, there were only 3 wines - 2 offered twice, at a "low" and "high" price. MRI showed no change in taste centers, but there was increased activity in the brain's pleasure centers.