77% of decisions are influenced by language This is the fourth of 20 daily THOUGHTS examining the emotions in marketing.In a now famous study, behavioural economist Dan Ariely examined two purchase decisions: Purchase decision 1 – a quality chocolate for 15c or a cheap chocolate for .01c Purchase decision 2 – the quality chocolate for […]

77% of decisions are influenced by language This is the fourth of 20 daily THOUGHTS examining the emotions in marketing.In a now famous study, behavioural economist Dan Ariely examined two purchase decisions: Purchase decision 1 – a quality chocolate for 15c or a cheap chocolate for .01c Purchase decision 2 – the quality chocolate for 14c and the cheap chocolate for FREE Note that: in both decision-making situations, the gap in the pricing is the same the same recognised brands of chocolate were used in both trials The findings: Purchase decision 1 – 75% purchased the quality chocolate Purchase decision 2 – 60% selected the cheap chocolate From this study it was concluded as follows: Free is a powerful word Language is important in influencing decision-making This study also demonstrated that human decision-making is often less than rational. The fact is, like it or not, human beings are not rational…