In The Paradox of Choice, Barry Schwartz asks an interesting pair of questions:
Imagine that you have decided to see a concert where admission is $20 a ticket. As you enter the concert hall, you discover that you have lost a $20 bill. Would you still pay $20 for a ticket to the concert?
Schwartz says that almost ninety percent of respondents say yes. Now the second question:
Imagine that you have decided to see a concert and already purchased a $20 ticket. As you enter the concert hall, you discover that you have lost the ticket. The seat was not marked and the ticket cannot be recovered. Would you pay $20 for another ticket?
In this situation, less that 50 percent of respondents say yes.
From a “bottom line” perspective, $40 is $40, but that is not how most people think about such a situation. This is because we not only account for where our money goes in Quicken, but also in our minds. We have psychological accounts in which we categorize how much money is appropriate to spend on a concert. We can justify buying a ticket even after we’ve lost a $20 bill because we’re still only spending $20 on a concert. Once we buy the ticket, we’ve invested $20 in the concert experience and we’re unwilling to invest more.
Schwartz’s point is that we play some funky games in our head that end up having a bigger impact on our day to day choices than we realize.
Can you think of a time when you’ve engaged in similar psychological shenanigans?
Telling Stories, Asking Questions, Learning Lessons
Once I announced a suspension of my blog and turned off my comments. Then, I came out of retirement and… oh, wait…sorry, that wasn’t me.
Glad you’re back. We missed you. I hope you enjoyed your hiatus. Maybe after 10 years you can take 2 days off.
That’s an interesting dynamic that the author illustrates. I suppose it shows some psycological truths about our perspectives on money and the power/rewards it brings.
Just this AM I was excited about getting a smoothie. I went to the smoothie store to get my 24oz of all fruit deliciousness under the preseumpotion that I had about twenty or thirty dollars in my wallet. I got to the counter to order the smoothie that I had been craving all morning, reached in my wallet and all that was there was a five dollar bill.
Where’d my cash go? Did my wife pilfer my wallet, and leave me with just a five? If I buy this smoothie my cash is zapped for the rest of the day.
I had enough to cover the smoothie, but was left with nothing but loose change in my pocket. what a bummer. Is this really how I wanted to use up the rest of my funds?
I bought the smoothie, I am actually enjoying the smoothie at this very moment, but I’d be enjoying it more if it hadn’t taken me for all I was worth.
How long do you have????
I think this kind of thinking is how we get into most the messes (sins) of our life.
This kind of thinking is at the heart of a few churches I’ve known.
Peace.
This sounds like rationalization discussion to me. Our decision-making process is filled with it. I’m convinced that very few people do something they think is unwise or wrong. Even if it is, they rationalize. There are certain leaps that we simply can’t make. Like buying a second ticket to a concert.
I think we can handle losing the money more than the ticket.
If I lose the money, I think that perhaps I will find it later and it will still be of value. Perhaps my son or wife ‘borrowed’ it. Perhaps I bought a new CD and do not remember it at the moment. Perhaps I never had the $40 and only had the $20 … it could be anything.
But if I buy the ticket and lose it, then I engage in a heavy dose of postmodern angst as I wrestle with whether or not I buy the ticket … perhaps it is meant for me not to go to this concert after all … what if I don’t really like the concert anyway … how could I be so stupid as to lose the ticket … if I find the ticket later it will be no good anyway … I should probably punish myself by not buying the ticket because I lost the first one.
Sometimes I feel like a Jewish Grandmother.
Thanks a lot.
Dobbs nailed it
Jewish grandmother
hahahhahahahaha
Wade, I always enjoy reading your blog, I would be honored if you added me to your list of friends, if you would like. Check out my blog at http://matthewsblog.waynesborochurchofchrist.org/
If this is what you produce by being tired and taking a break……then I hope you stay in that mode! Great post, brother!
How about the shenanigans of most males who won’t go back for something they left at the house…..no matter if they are one block away or 1,000 miles away! Guilty as charged.
DU