<prompt> Human: So youre broke but need a new computer, and go spend 2000 on a macbook. On the same day, you figure youve spent a lot of money, so you decide to splurge by spending another 100 dollars at a restaurant. Or, youre buying a new car, and you really dont care about the sunroof, but the car costs 20k and the sunroof is just an extra 1500. Or youre buying a house and the asking price is 400k, and you think 390k is a fairer price, but because its much less than a 1 difference, you decide not to bother negotiating. Does academics have a name for this behavior? I think Ive lost a lot of money this way, and its just not the right way of thinking: that 10k you could have saved on the house is worth the same as 10000 you go and blow at the casino. Anybody else have experiences or insight with this?  <response>: Im sure this will get buried but I wanted to get a bit sciencey. Humans tend to think of things logarithmically, so even though 1000 dollars will always cost 1000 dollars we see it as a lot less when its 1000 off a 1.2 million house. In the news article I linked below, they state that multiplying the intensity of some sensory stimuli causes a linear increase in perceived intensity. Basically, since we quantify things as being twice as bright or loud rather then exact quantitative amounts, when we think about spending 1000 on a computer, that 100 on dinner doesnt seem like much more since we already wrapped our head around spending the 1000. If you loose that context, say you go home and pay a 30 bill, suddenly 100 for dinner may become a big deal if you forgot about the computer and that frame of reference.I realize some of this may be reaching, but it seems to make sense given how alot of people view large purchases. 