Predictably Irrational Part 3 of 5: Differences in Perceived Value
December 17, 2008 by dr. lam
One of the psychological experiments mentioned in the book, Predictably Irrational, concerned how Duke University students viewed the value of tickets for the Final Four in which Duke would be participating. A lottery was instituted in which a certain lucky number of students won tickets gratis for this event, whereas others obviously were resigned to watch it from a sports bar or their dorm room. Ariely then called the abject losers of the lottery to see how much they would fork over for the right to see the event live. Somehow almost all of those polled arrived at a figure of about $170 some odd dollars. Ariely asked them how did they come up with this amount? The typical response was that they could easily watch the event at a sports bar and that is how much it would cost them in drinks, food, and also a bit on the side to purchase CDs and other frivolities that would make up the difference of not seeing the game in person. Ariely then asked the winning lottery holders to see how much they would accept as a reasonable offer for their tickets. Most ticket holders settled on a sum that hit approximately $2400 without much variance. He then asked the winners how did they arrive at such a figure. The responses involved how that Final Four event would define their entire 4-year time at Duke and how they would be able to pass that cherished memory down to their children and their grandchildren. How did their rarified view of the event stand in such stark contrast to the more pedestrian perception of the non ticket holders?
There in lies the rub. We oftentimes hold ownership at a much higher level than the non-owner. Accordingly, be careful about the 30-day, money-back guarantee. The couch you just bought that you might have had only passing interest in has now become your personal possession which you could not bear to forgo after the expiration of the 30-day period elapses. The gold digital cable connection that you were given as a 90-day trial period becomes part of your privileged right that you can no longer part with to accept the more mundane silver package lacking 4 HD channels as well as some other premium channels (that you conveniently never watch).
When I talk about aesthetics of the face, there is oftentimes a misalignment of perceptions regarding the magnitude of a problem or the lack thereof. For instance, I had a lady come in who wanted her eyelids managed when all I could see were her over-inflated lips staring back at me. I think the corpulent nature of her lips probably obstructed her vision as much as any eyelid issues she might have had. Most surgeons are trained to simply give a patient what he or she wants. I simply refuse to do that. My goal is to help you see what other people perhaps more clearly see but simply won’t tell you owing to genteel discretion.
Alternatively, you also are aware that I tend to help calibrate perception of a problem by de-emphasizing what many women perceive is the problem, which is invariably some small lines around their mouth, a small upper lip, or asymmetry of their upper lip. Simply put, 99.99999% of other people looking at you do not see that deficiency. Of course, I can manage it but I would like to help someone see the big picture of what is the problem so that I can help provide a more balanced appraisal in order that whatever money you spend there can be a wow effect from the observer. We are social creatures and we tend to cherish approbation from another and become crestfallen at any negative observations from a third party (or the absence of another’s perception of the benefits of a particular treatment.) My goal during a consultation is to help you be educated on what may be priority #1 in terms of what any person would see is making you look not as attractive, rested, or youthful as you could be. In fact, it is my fiduciary responsibility to help you perceive the relative value in something by putting it into perspective and prioritizing what I see would most likely benefit you.
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