Blog 2 - Predictably Irrational Response

The primary lesson learned from chapter 9 in the book Predictably Irrational is that expectations alter a person’s feelings about the situation from what they would have thought if they never had the expectations. This psychological behavior that affects a person’s willingness to do one thing over another suggests huge insights into design and the way a product is marketed. In the article, one of the examples was that when people drank out of a nicer cup of coffee it tasted better. On the other hand, if the coffee was served in a Styrofoam cup it didn’t taste as good. The implication here is that if companies were to apply this lesson in their companies they would have to figure out what packaging draws people towards their product. Another suggestion to increase sales for a company that sells a generic product like Hill Country or HEB branded laundry detergent should spend more money designing the package to where it looks like it would be good quality detergent. The change in the outer appearance changes people’s perception about the product. Looks DO matter. At least, when it comes to Marketing and Advertising! As Professor Walls constantly remind us, it’s about giving the consumers a holistic experience. If you want to attract customers then it’s not just about how great the taste is, but the presentation of the product is equally important. Another valuable question Marketers can ask themselves is, if expectations affect the way you view a situation, then what can the company do to understand consumer’s expectations? Is there a consistent pattern of behavior in the population? Although everyone has different expectations for different products, but is there a general consistency in behavior that Marketers could target?

Ariely’s main example in this book is the beer test between a regular beer and the MIT brew (which has a hint of balsamic vinegar). When he told people beforehand that it had vinegar in it, most people stuck with the regular beer. When he didn’t say anything and told them to just try it, most people chose the MIT brew. Even when he told them afterwards that there was vinegar, people still reacted the same way they did when they didn’t know what was in the drink, because they already tried it before they could EXPECT what was in it. An example I recall, not from my own experience but from a story I’ve heard, is the story of a death sentenced prisoner who was getting blood drawn. The officer said that if the blood coming from this tube keeps going for a couple of hours, then he’ll only have two hours to live afterwards. What the prisoner didn’t know was that the blood coming out of his body, but from a pig. When the prisoner saw that ‘his blood’ kept coming out, he immediately thought he was going to die. So he passed away two hours afterwards. He expected something that wasn’t actually true. Another example I thought of was, what if people were told to taste Pepsi inside of a Coca-cola can? Would their expectations of the brand trick them into thinking that the drink inside is actually coke. They might find the taste a little different, but blame it on their own over-thinking or they didn’t sleep well last night and isn’t clearly there that day, or maybe they just ate and thought the food from before is changing the taste of the coke right now. These are all examples of people’s perceptions and how it affects the way something tastes or the situation. An example that came from my past experience is when I ate frog meat in Asia. They told me it was frog meat after I had eaten it, and although I was still disgusted, the meat actually tasted a lot like chicken. If they had told me, “hey, try some of this meat. It’s frog.” I would probably either not eat it, or force a piece in my mouth and then spit it out, not even giving the flavor of the meat a chance. This example is similar from the Ariely example: Does it matter whether you give them the information before or after the test? It is just information, and anything factual stays the same, BUT it does matter because if you tell someone beforehand, they already have the EXPECTATION of something tasting good/bad so the mental formulations tricks their taste buds into thinking that the flavors really are good or really are bad.