Surname 2
Ariely clearly illustrates how humans have become irrational and the marketing principles based
on rationality can no longer be deemed satisfactory. Ariely’s theory on expectations explains
how people end up having the experience they want to have. He uses the example of how people
often opt for a more expensive drug rather than a cheap one even though the effects of the drug
might be the same. They end up feeling better after taking the more expensive drug which is just
a matter of psychology. This is important in marketing because it helps companies in
determining the pricing of their goods because by pricing their goods at an extremely low price
they may end up missing out on customers because the consumers relate price to quality.
Another aspect of the book that relates to marketing is the theory of ‘anchoring’. In Chapter 2 of
the book, he explains how a certain Pearl dealer got to make the elite women in the society to
buy worthless black pearls by simply overpricing the product (Ariely 24). He achieved this
simply because humans are guided by their first impression of something and the impression
becomes imprinted such that the initial price of a commodity will form the basis for future
prices. This pricing is also based on the law of human action that states that if you want a person
to covet something, you need to make the commodity difficult to attain (Ariely 25).
In conclusion, the book is quite interesting as it gives the reader can relate to several
aspects being discussed in the book. The many theories and chapters in the book relate directly
or indirectly to marketing, for example, the theory of expectations and the theory of anchoring.
