Why does paying without physical cash increase the likelihood that we purchase something? Why Spending Hurts Less Without Cash Imagine buying a $75 dinner. If you hand over three crisp…
Heuristics
23 Articles
Why are we likely to spend more after reading the word “bye”? Can the Word “Bye” Make You Buy? Imagine reading a travel article that ends with: “Bye-bye!” A few…
Why do we value items purchased in a bundle less than those purchased individually? Why We Treat the Same Thing Differently When It Comes in a Package Imagine buying 10…
Why are we satisfied by “good enough?” Why “Good Enough” Often Wins We like to imagine that people make decisions by carefully weighing every option and choosing the best one….
Why do we transfer negative emotions about being broke on items that we purchase? Have you ever bought something you normally enjoy—perhaps a favorite restaurant meal—then felt oddly disappointed afterward…
Why do we focus on trivial things? Why Small Details Get So Much Attention “Bikeshedding” is the tendency for groups to spend far more time debating simple, low-stakes details than…
Why Doing Someone a Favor Can Make You Like Them More We usually think liking causes favors. We like someone, so we help them. But sometimes the reverse happens: helping…
Why do we maintain the same beliefs, even when we are proved wrong? Why Facts Can Make People Dig In Have you ever shown someone clear evidence—and watched them become…
Why do we rely on specific information over statistics? Imagine a medical test that is 99% accurate. It sounds nearly perfect. But if the disease is very rare—say, only 1…
Why do we believe our horoscopes? Why Vague Descriptions Feel Uncannily Personal Have you ever read a horoscope and thought, “Wow, that sounds exactly like me”? You may have just…