Joseph's "Just My Thoughts"

Wrong Compensation. A semiconductor chip maker conducted an experiment. Workers worked four days a week and took a break. On the first workday, Monday, if they produced a certain number of chips, the company gave them a $30 bonus to motivate their work. However, there was no compensation for the remaining three days. The same bonus was offered again when work resumed after the holidays. The workers were divided into groups, and only on the first day did they earn a bonus: the first group received no reward, the second group was paid the same amount, the third group received a pizza coupon, and the fourth group got a compliment text message, with their productivity monitored for the other three days. Results showed that the first group, with no compensation, had the lowest productivity. The highest productivity was seen in the praise letter group, followed by the other groups. The company suffered a loss because of the $30 bonus. Social motivation and financial motivation are different....

Attention and pain greatly influence customers’ willingness to pay. Nobody likes to wait. If customers search for products on an online store and receive instant results, they value it. But if they have to wait, it’s a different story. Showing a blank white screen causes customers to leave the site. However, if an animated circle indicates the connection is active, customers are more likely to wait. Additionally, displaying the search process, such as showing that results are being generated, helps customers wait more patiently. In fact, customers often wait with anticipation. Transparency helps ensure that customer interest remains positive and doesn’t turn into frustration. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”

Money and attention affect how we experience pain and joy. People tend to feel worse when paying with cash compared to using a card. If a restaurant charges you $1 for a spoonful of food, your enjoyment diminishes because you focus more on the cost than the food itself. To reduce spending, you should make spending feel painful. For example, paying with cash rather than a credit card usually leads to less spending. Automatic debit can become a trap. A study shows electricity use increases by 4% when bills are paid via direct debit. Managing spending involves controlling how much importance you give to it. Ultimately, to reduce expenses, we need to change the system and how it’s structured. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”

The IKEA Effect is a type of the Ownership Effect. People tend to become more attached to owning an item than borrowing it. Additionally, putting effort into their possessions enhances this attachment. However, if the effort is too much, it can have the opposite effect. IKEA intentionally does not sell furniture as finished products. Instead, it uses a sales method that encourages customers to assemble their furniture, which increases their satisfaction with the final piece. Furniture is not just a temporary consumer product but an experiential item that is visible and used regularly over time. When owners value their furniture, they see it as a vital part of their lives and a reflection of their family relationships, rather than simply a product that meets their needs. Customers who experience this tend to desire more than just furniture; they seek a symbol that fosters family bonds. However, this sales approach may not be suitable for all types of products. - Joseph’s “just my though...

Effects of Ownership. It refers to valuing what one owns from one’s own perspective. The competition to buy tickets for the Duke University basketball game was very fierce, so the university decided to distribute tickets through a lottery. Some students applied for the same ticket, and among them, the winning students and dropout students were asked about their valuations: the winners were asked how much they would sell the ticket for, while the dropout students were asked how much they would buy it for. The lowest selling price from the winners was $2,410, whereas the highest buying price from the dropout students was $170. The difference was substantial. When asked why they thought so, ticket holders considered the value of giving up the ticket, while ticket buyers considered the value of exchanging cash for it. In other words, possession represented the benefit of sacrificing something else. Value judgments depend on what we own. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”

Free Effect. A new ice cream company in India has set up free ice cream vending machines on the streets to promote its brand. Result? People lined up at a very long distance in front of the vending machine. It was raining then, and the people in line went to a convenience store to buy umbrellas, then lined up again. Umbrellas cost much more than ice cream. However, people kept lining up. Cheap and free are two completely different concepts. When the price is low, sales increase slightly, but when it is free, an extraordinary dimension of the problem arises. It’s a privilege, so consumers are willing to pay a higher price to get something for free. Free is not a matter of reason; it is a matter of emotion. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”

Time Preference Rate. “The Marshmallow Tale” by Joachim de Posada and Ellen Singer describes the “Marshmallow Experiment” at Stanford University. The experimenter left the child alone in the room and gave the child a marshmallow, instructing the child to eat it immediately. However, if the child did not eat it within 15 minutes, the experimenter would give the child another marshmallow. Some children waited the full 15 minutes, while others stopped waiting early. These two groups were followed for 14 years, and as a result, the more patient children showed better social and mental abilities. Those who cannot tolerate waiting are said to have a high time preference rate, while those who are patient are described as having a low time preference rate. In investment, high and low time preference ratios are not necessarily good or bad because many investments depend on luck. The key is to find and stick to methods and principles that match one’s own tendencies. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”