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Don't go clubbing with an attractive friend | Nudge Newsletter 🧠

Published almost 2 years ago • 1 min read

Know your anchor.

In 2005, three researchers sold energy drinks at two prices:

  • Full price: $1.89
  • Discount price: $0.89

The researchers wondered if the price influenced the participant's performance on a cognitive task.

Would a higher anchor make them perform better?

Yes.

Those who purchased the drink at the full price performed better on the mental task.

The price anchor shaped their expectations and influenced their behaviour.

This is also why you should never go clubbing with your attractive friend.

Researchers Kenrick & Gutierres showed men a picture of a random female right after the men had watched Charlie's Angels (a TV show featuring three attractive women).

Compared to a control group, men who had been watching Charlie's Angels rated the female in the picture to be less attractive.

The blokes were anchored by the attractive angels and found others dull in comparison.

That's anchoring in action.

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See you next Friday!

Phill

P.S. Many of these examples came from Nick Kolenda's book Methods of Persuasion. I interviewed him for Nudge last week. That episode will be out soon.

Nudge Newsletter

Phill Agnew

I spend 18 hours each week turning marketing psychology into readable newsletters.

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