Title: Less-is-better effect - Wikipedia
Headings: Less-is-better effect
Less-is-better effect
Contents
Identifying the effect
Other studies
General observations
Limitations
Hypothesized causes
Applications
See also
Notes
References

Content: It has also been observed that customers tend to be happier when merchants give them a little extra something that costs the merchant relatively little – a bonus scoop of ice cream on a sundae, for example – than when merchants actually offer them a better deal on the sundae that would cost the merchant more. Limitations
The less-is-better effect occurs only under specific circumstances. Evidence has shown that it manifests itself only when the options are evaluated individually; it disappears when they are assessed jointly. " If the options are put right next to each other, the effect disappears, as people see the true value of both," states one source. " It's just the gifts in isolation that give people a flipped sense of happiness and gratitude." Hypothesized causes
Theoretical causes of the less-is-better effect include: counterfactual thinking - A study found that bronze medalists are happier than silver medalists, apparently because silver invites comparison to gold whereas bronze invites comparison to not receiving a medal. evaluability heuristic and/or fluency heuristic - Hsee hypothesized that subjects evaluated proposals more highly based on attributes that were easier to evaluate ( attribute substitution ). Another study found that students preferred funny versus artistic posters according to attributes they could verbalize easily, but the preference was reversed when they did not need to explain a reason (see also introspection illusion ).