Costly placebo works better than cheap one

Costly placebo works better than cheap one

www.physorg.com

A 10-cent pill doesn't kill pain as well as a $2.50 pill, even when they are identical placebos, according to a provocative study by Dan Ariely, a behavioral economist at Duke University.

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Sweet! I'm getting into the snake oil business. There's money to be made there

www.physorg.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

It’s an interesting psychological phenomenon this ‘perceived worth’ thing. I’ve heard of products that were priced too cheaply and didn’t sell a bit, that when repackaged and sold at 10 times the price flew off the shelves. Silly sheeple.

edit for sp

[edit on 5-3-2008 by resistor]

Originally posted by resistor
It’s an interesting psychological phenomenon this ‘perceived worth’ thing.

Yup. It's one of my interests. It's called heuristics in psychology.

There's an old adage in plumbing. If the customer didn't complain, you didn't charge enough.

Same here.

There was an article a few years ago (ok, possibly a decade ago) that had an interview with a woman selling hand made sweaters for $20, significantly cheaper then a nearby department store was selling designer ones (of lesser quality) for $45. They wouldnt' sell. She ended up raising the price to $60 and sold out that day.

Perceived quality is the key.