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Restaurant menus are often built around these kinds of comparison effects; it's pretty common, for instance, to have a really expensive item on the menu in orde
by rst 16y ago
Restaurant menus are often built around these kinds of comparison effects; it's pretty common, for instance, to have a really expensive item on the menu in order to make the second most expensive thing look reasonably priced in comparison (that being the high-margin entree they really want people to order). A couple of examples, from a pricey New York restaurant and from a chain:
Balthazar's (French brasserie in NYC): http://nymag.com/restaurants/features/62498/ http://nymag.com/restaurants/features/62498/
CPK: http://www.walletpop.com/2010/01/15/secret-restaurant-menu-tricks-dissecting-california-pizza-kitch/ http://www.walletpop.com/2010/01/15/secret-restaurant-menu-t...
More on this sort of thing (a lot more) can be found in, e.g., Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely (highly recommended)...
- lotusleaf1987 16y agoIIRC that's called a decoy strategy. You put the decoy there to make the other choices look better by comparison. It gives you justification for making the choice and forces their decision. I read this book in college: http://www.amazon.com/Influence-Psychology-Persuasion-Business-Essentials/dp/product-description/006124189X http://www.amazon.com/Influence-Psychology-Persuasion-Busine... It goes through a bunch of different tactics used in marketing/advertising/sales such as foot in the door, door in the face, etc etc. Once I read it, it really gave me a new perspective on how often people are trying to manipulate our choices.