Businessweek reported on the “The Rewards of Research” in a down economy in their February 9th issue on newsstands this week. A study of companies during the 2001 and 2002 economic downturn (with at least $100M market capitalization) revealed that those who increased R&D expenditures by 10% or more during those years outperformed the S&P 500 index […]
Consumers will drive 20 minutes across town to save $7 on a $20 pen, but won’t drive 20 minutes across town to save $7 on a $500 suit. Isn’t seven dollars, seven dollars?
Restaurant patrons will be less satisfied with their dinners if they’ve ordered aloud within a group of friends than if they place their orders privately. Why do we sacrifice a sensual experience for the projection of our image to our friends?
“Economic Unrest is Shifting Electoral Battlegrounds” – front page headline New York Times, Sunday October 5th. The trouble with this headline lies in the meaning of what the word “is” is. “Is” indicates causality in this case, and is clearly spoken out of turn. The article claims that the cause of the recent turn […]
If expectational influence on subsequent judgment were ever on public display, we saw it in nearly every analyst on television Thursday evening following the Vice Presidential debate. Sarah Palin’s performance in the debate was much better than what we saw in the clips from the Katie Couric interview. But really, where was there to go, […]
At Sentient, we talk of a human behavioral driver we call “bleeding needs”. This represents an extension of a motivational phenomenon recently dubbed “reverse allesthesia” in the academic literature. Reverse allesthesia suggests that a sample of a good will increase the motivational drive to consume more of that good. In other words, a taste of […]