Consumption, sales & psychology

Let’s imagine a person that has a 5 year old son, and this son asks the parent to buy him a skateboard, but the problem is that the parent have not yet received his monthly salary, and because of it, he refuses to buy the skateboard for the time being. But there are also other reasons that can justify his decision, like for example the fact that this month he has exceeded the limits of his credit card, and has not yet decided between the advantages and disadvantages of buying a skateboard for his son at such a young age.

Besides, it is argued that "fewer toys are better for children because sparse playrooms encourage creativity, help develop attention spans, and teach youngsters about taking care of their possessions." | Source

But as we all know, kids can be very insistent when it comes to asking for new toys or cool items. Again and again the kid asks for it, he even begs, in order to get the skateboard that he wants. But it seems that each new negative response he receives, far from discouraging him and making him forget all about it, he returns to his constant begging with more strength.

After a long and tedious process, the son starts to give some signs of understanding and, finally, ends up accepting that he will not have the skateboard. So instead, he chooses to ask the parent for a simpler thing, like an ice cream.

How could someone refuse such a petty request right? Of course, in this context, the parent will decide to buy him the ice cream.

The important thing to ask ourselves is this: Would the parent have bought the ice cream if it was asked in the first place instead of the skateboard? Perhaps not.

The presence of a much more demanding first request, so inadequate that in all likelihood it would be rejected, can end up increasing the chances of a positive response to a second request, that is by the way, much less demanding. And maybe this is due, in part, to the contrast that is caused between the two requests.

How can this be explained?

Our brain is not very good getting along with absolute concepts, in order to determine if something is substantial or not, acceptable or no, it needs to be guided by some kind of parameter to be used as a reference. In the example with the small kid, the first request would be a good point of comparison.

Relativity is the key. And the money spent on an ice cream, in relation to the expenditure that a skateboard requires, seems so insignificant that is not even worth analyzing in dept.

Another reason that may contribute to all of this might be the need to show ourselves before others as an inherently good person, cooperative or predisposed towards helping with the needs of others. Whether we admit it or not, we are all concerned, to a greater or lesser extent, with the image we transmit.

Our reputation is a tool, not hopefully for creating or maintaining our self-esteem but for practical navigation through daily life, a good one smoothing out the journey somewhat, a bad one causing doors to slam in our face and testing our confidence in ourselves. | Source

We have no problem when rejecting a request that can be considered irrational to us since we believe that we run no risk of being judged negatively for rejecting it. But when the request is reasonable, and especially if we have already said no the first time, it is much harder to resist the fear of being seen as selfish, individualistic or something similar.

Moreover, contrasts can influence our perception and induce us to exaggerate the differences between the objects or options that we are comparing. Of course, this is not something we do consciously. The contrast is generated between two options presented one after the other, (like the example already mentioned between the skateboard and the ice cream). It is something that we succumb to constantly and that has serious implications in the way people interact between each other.

The contrast effect is a magnification or diminishment of perception as a result of previous exposure to something of lesser or greater quality, but of the same base characteristics. | Source

If a 5 year old kid, even without realizing it, can manipulate his parent that way, there are also a lot of clever people who have no problem about manipulating anyone, especially when it comes to seducing potential costumers to consume certain products.

Some common examples

For example, when we buy a new vehicle, and once the paperwork is finished, the price of the vehicle becomes the point to which we will mentally refer when the seller begins to offer, one by one, which will end up being a never ending list of accessories that seem cheap when comparing their prices with the vehicle’s price, but of course, they can start to add up very easily.

Or when buying new shoes, if the salesman has experience in the field, he is likely to first show a leather shoe that is very expensive, and as soon as the rejection is shown in the client’s face, the salesman will rapidly offer him a new pair, but at a cheaper price that, according to the parameter created by the previous shoes, the new ones will be perceived as a price that is much more beneficial that it actually is, simply because it was considerably cheaper than the first pair of shoes.

With the first offer, the salesman will be establishing a comparison parameter. From this starting point, the price of the second pair of shoes, which is surely the one that the salesman wants to sell since the beginning, will seem much lower than what it actually is.

The only way to overcome these unconscious influences is to better understand the process of decision making by becoming aware of the environmental cues that can trigger these learned behaviors. | Source

Conclusion

Its difficult for our brain to think and chose in absolute terms, we always need some kind of reference that can allow us to make comparisons between whatever options we are facing

We know if something is moral or not, significant or not, expensive or cheap by looking fundamentally around us, analyzing the context in which we find ourselves, and comparing the object of our interest with something else that, of course, belongs to its category so it can be compared without problem.

The problem lies in the large number of scammers who know about this, and use it to cheat us or sell us things that, under a cold and rational analysis, we would never buy.

Therefore, its always important to be informed about these type of subjects so we can be prepared when encountering situations like the ones described in this post.