Why do we buy the things that we buy?
In my last video, I explained how certain factors can influence your choice of yogurt.
And in this video, I want to focus on one factor in particular
mindset priming.
Whatever you see or experience before you make a decision
puts you in a mindset that influences that decision.
Even random things like the handle of a shopping cart
can influence the products that you end up buying.
So I'll explain two types of priming.
The first is content priming.
Whenever you see something, your brain activates the individual components
and you gravitate toward options where those components are more activated in your mind.
Consider color.
Researchers asked people to list 6 brands of soda
and when it was the day before Halloween
when everywhere was flooded with the color orange
people were more likely to list orange soda like Sunkist.
And in a follow-up study
people were more likely to choose orange products in a survey
if they were using an orange pen
and they were more likely to choose green products
if they were using a green pen.
If you're choosing among blueberry, strawberry, and strawberry cheesecake
you're more likely to go with strawberry or strawberry cheesecake near valentine's day
when red is more prevalent in your mind.
And the same would happen if the handle of your shopping cart is red.
Because of that heightened activation red yogurts pop into your mind more easily.
And because you're not sure why those yogurts popped into your mind more easily
you conclude that "Oh" it's because you want to buy those yogurts.
Color is one example, but the same effect happens with any feature or component of an option.
If you're choosing yogurt, and Greek music is playing in the background.
You're going to non-consciously gravitate toward greek yogurt
because that yogurt is going to pop into your mind more easily.
So those are some examples of content priming
but in this video, I want to focus on a lesser-known type of priming
which I'll call procedural priming.
In the first chapter of my book Methods of Persuasion
I describe the example of open-mindedness.
Suppose that you don't like blueberries
so you don't think that you would like blueberry yogurt.
But let's say that you're shopping with a friend
and he tells you about a time
where he recently tried a unique combination of food.
And it was actually pretty good.
That conversation primes the concept of open-mindedness
and because of that
you can more easily simulate yourself choosing blueberry yogurt
a yogurt that you're kind of unsure about
because of that heightened activation.
You can refer to a Chapter 1 of Methods of Persuasion
for a more detailed explanation
But for the rest of this video
I want to focus on new mindsets that I didn't cover in my book.
The first is what I call an acquisition mindset.
When people were hungry
they were more likely to purchase binder clips.
Why?
Well, compare this with open- mindedness.
A conversation about eating disgusting food
activates a high-level concept of open mindedness.
And thus, it extracts open minded behavior
in other domains like yogurt.
Hunger works the same way.
When you have an urge to acquire food
the core essence of that behavior is acquisition
and because you activate that high-level concept
you activate that type of behavior in other domains outside of food
including non edible products, like binder clips.
And you see similar effects with other emotions and mindsets.
Jealousy is a type of emotion where you want to capture attention to yourself.
And sure enough, when people wrote about an event that made them jealous
the jealous event activated a high level mindset of capturing attention.
And they were more likely to prefer products that helped capture attention
like a brightly saturated coat.
On the opposite side
when people feel embarrassed, they want to hide from the world.
And it turns out, when people write about an embarrassing event
they're more likely to buy sunglasses that are larger and darker
because those sunglasses are better at physically hiding their face from the world.
Whenever we shop, our emotions are putting us in a mindset
that is guiding our behavior towards some type of goal.
But emotions are necessary for procedural mindsets.
Any action or behavior can trigger those mindsets as well.
Consider a comparative mindset.
If you look at these pictures
and if you choose which picture you like better
that simple decision just put you in a mindset
where you're now more likely to buy yogurt.
Researchers asked people to choose which animal they preferred
an elephant or a hippo.
And those people were more likely to buy a computer afterward.
So, why does that happen?
Well, whenever we choose an option
we go through two consecutive stages.
First, we decide whether to choose an option.
Then, we decide which option to choose.
Because of those consecutive stages, any comparative action
even something unrelated like choosing a picture or choosing an animal
puts you in a comparative mindset.
So once you encounter the options
you immediately jump to the comparative stage
as if you already made the decision to buy an option.
And now you're merely deciding which option to buy.
When you're shopping in a store
you might contemplate a comparative question
like which aisle to go down.
And that small arbitrary question just triggered this comparative mindset.
Once you reach the product shelf
you'll be further into the buying decision without realizing it.
Another mindset would be a conformity mindset.
Researchers asked people to mimic the bodily movements of another person.
And when they did that, they activated a high-level concept of conformity.
And afterward, those people were more likely to choose products
that had been chosen by the majority of people.
Let's say you're shopping with a friend
and both of you happen to wear the same colored shirt.
That coincidence would activate the concept of conformity
and you might gravitate toward products that are more popular or stereotypical
say blueberry or strawberry yogurt.
And the opposite could happen with a unique mindset.
In one study, people felt a sample of fur
And when they went against the grain
in other words, when they literally went against the flow
they metaphorically went against the flow in a later task
by choosing a t-shirt that not as many people had chosen.
If you're shopping at home while petting your cat
the mere direction in which you're petting your cat
could influence the products that you end up buying.
In fact, petting your cat would also activate the concepts of softness and smoothness
and thanks to content priming
if you're buying yogurt, you might be drawn toward yogurts that are advertised as smoother and creamier.
You can even use these principles to brainstorm your own mindsets.
Based on what I'd call a filling mindset
I'd argue that you'd be more likely to buy a larger quantity of products online
If you recently filled up a glass of water
Those two actions -- adding things to a cart and filling up a glass of water -- are part of the same sensory concept
of filling a container.
If you fill a glass of water, you activate that high-level concept
which then extracts that behavior in other contexts.
We always think we're in full control of our decisions when we're shopping
but in reality, everything around us is playing a role in our decision-making.
If you want to learn more, you can refer to my book Methods of Persuasion.
Or you can subscribe to this channel for more videos.
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You can refer to my book for a more detailed explanation
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The things that we buy
in my last video
in my last video
in my last video
I explained how certain factors can influence your choice of yogurt.
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