Dollars and Sense

Expectations add color to the black-and-white images we hold of our future selves.

The moment we begin expecting something, our minds and bodies begin preparing for that reality. That preparation can, and typically does, affect the reality of the experience.

If we expect something to be a positive experience, we prepare for that, perhaps smiling, releasing endorphins, or simply seeing the world in a more positive light.

If we expect something to be bad, our bodies get ready for that negative experience, perhaps by tensing up, growling, getting stressed, staring at our shoes, and girding ourselves to face the miserable world around us.

purchasing one week of vacation brings us five weeks of pleasure.

Expectations act as value cues that aren’t tied directly to the thing we are buying. They are not changing the purchased item; they are our brain’s perception of that item, which changes how we experience it.

Expectations have been shown to improve performance, enhance the consumption experience, and change our perceptions, thereby affecting our ability to assess value and willingness to pay.

People who expect a cartoon to be funny laugh more;

branding doesn’t just make people say they enjoyed things more; it actually makes these things more enjoyable inside their brains.

people who purchase a new car from the same automaker as they had before pay more than those who are buying that brand of car for the first time.

In July 1911, the Mona Lisa was just another painting. In August 1911, it was stolen from the Louvre. While the authorities tracked it down, there were suddenly huge lines of visitors waiting to view the empty space where the painting had hung. More people went to see the absence of the painting than had gone to see the painting itself prior to the theft. The theft had become a signal of the Mona Lisa’s worth. Surely, no one would steal a worthless painting. The crime brought long-term value to the Mona Lisa and the Louvre.

past performance is simply no guarantee of future success.

We only get one chance to make a first impression;

If we pay $100 for something that we won’t consume for, say, three months, we get the $100 thing, plus the three months of anticipation and daydreaming and excitement. So we get more than we pay for, and when we finally get to consume the thing, we might even feel like we’re getting a bargain.

We’re confronted by self-control issues all the time,

Why do we have such a hard time with self-control? It’s because we tend to value certain things right now in the present much more highly than we value them in the future. Something that’s great for us—but won’t arrive

Why do we have such a hard time with self-control? It’s because we tend to value certain things right now in the present much more highly than we value them in the future.

Today our reality is clearly defined, with details, emotions, and so on. In the future, it is not.

The problem, of course, is that we never get to live in the future. We always live in the present

The problem, of course, is that we never get to live in the future. We always live in the present. Today our emotions get in the way. Our emotions right now are real and tangible. Our emotions in the future are, at best, just a prediction. They are imaginary and, in our imagined future, we can control them. So this makes our decisions about the future emotion-free.