Pursuits
Beware the Presenter's Paradox
Four ways to avoid the business mistake you don’t even know you’re making
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What we perceive as a bargain is very different from what is a bargain. We are atavistic creatures, and even after we do all the arithmetic and reasoned thinking possible, our lizard brains are sometimes still making the judgment calls.
Say you’re buying a fancy camera, and you’re offered two package deals: the camera itself, or the camera plus a couple of packs of batteries plus a little certificate for cheapo printing at the local drugstore kiosk. Both packages cost the same. You should pick the offer with the freebies, right? Yet a study published in the October Journal of Consumer Research finds most of us will prefer the opposite. Instinctually, A + B + C is somehow worth less than just plain A.