appealing Availability eventually Beats rational Cognition

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(appealing) Availability(eventually)
Beats (rational) Cognition

• Comparing nearby experiences
• 1. The effects of availability

The outline for the behavioral economics
curriculum component, Using judgment and
decision-making concepts to encourage positive
life choices is at rjames.myweb.uga.edu/outline.h
tm
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Our choices and our satisfaction are driven by
the comparisons we make
Nearby additional
Alternative
Future
Past
Expected
Current
Multiple Alternative
Relevant Observed
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Behavioral Economics Concepts
Loss Aversion Endowment Effect Status Quo Bias
Availability Effects
Endogenous Determination of Time Preference
Nearby additional
Alternative
Future
Past
Expected
Current
Hedonic Adaptation
Placebo Effect Stereotypes
Multiple Alternative
Anchoring Paradox of Choice
Peer Effects Relative Standing
Relevant Observed
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Welcome to elephant training 101

• Long-term/patient
• Planner
• Impartial spectator
• Deliberative
• Cold state

• Short-term/impulsive
• Doer
• Passions
• Affective/Visceral
• Hot state

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The elephant understands certain emotions and
drives

• Long-term
• Patient
• Planner
• Impartial spectator
• Deliberative
• Cold state

Hunger Anger Fear Lust
Thirst Pain

• Short-term
• Impulsive
• Doer
• Passions
• Affective/Visceral
• Hot state

To stay G rated, lets look at hunger
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Hunger conflict
These would taste good, but doughnuts fried in
oil are high in saturated fat and sugar, which
would make me fatter, slower, and less healthy.
Eat them all now!

• Long-term
• Patient
• Planner
• Impartial spectator
• Deliberative
• Cold state

• Short-term
• Impulsive
• Doer
• Passions
• Affective/Visceral
• Hot state

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Why is environmental choice important?

• (appealing) Availability
• (eventually) Beats
• (rational) Cognition

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appealing Availability eventually Beats
rational Cognition
These would taste good, but doughnuts fried in
oil are high in saturated fat and sugar, which
would make me fatter, slower, and less healthy.
Eat them all now!

• When the rider is vigilant, the rider may
  temporarily succeed.
• But, when the rider eventually becomes tired or
  distracted, immediate availability will win.

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When the rider becomes distracted immediate
availability wins

• Group memorizing 2-digit number chose chocolate
  cake
• 41 of the time
• Group memorizing 7-digit number chose chocolate
  cake
• 63 of the time

OR
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When the rider becomes distracted immediate
availability wins
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appealing Availability eventually Beats
rational Cognition

• Availability of energy dense foods, is also a
  major risk factor for other consumption related
  pathology, such as certain forms of obesity and
  type-2 diabetes.

Ahmed, S. (2005) Imbalance between drug and
non-drug reward availability A major risk factor
for addiction. European Journal of Pharmacology,
526, p. 11.
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appealing Availability eventually Beats
rational Cognition

• alcohol problems vary with alcohol
  availability this body of evidence is among the
  strongest bodies of evidence in existence linking
  health problems to determinants. Mann, 2005,
  Availability as a law of addiction. Addiction,
  100, p. 924.

Drinking and alcohol related problems can be
affected by restriction of the hours and days of
alcohol purchasing and of the numbers and types
of alcohol outlets. Room, Babor, Rehm, 2005,
Alcohol and public health. The Lancet, 365, p.
526.
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appealing Availability eventually Beats
rational Cognition

• Among environmental factors, drug availability
  represents a major risk factor.
• Increased drug availability can precipitate the
  transition to addiction

Ahmed, S. (2005) Imbalance between drug and
non-drug reward availability A major risk factor
for addiction. European Journal of Pharmacology,
526, p. 11.
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appealing Availability eventually Beats
rational Cognition
Does physicians greater knowledge protect them
against greater availability?

• A higher percentage of drug users among
  physicians can be due to the fact that
  self-treatment is wide-spread
• Physicians in the U.S. use more opiates and
  benzodiazepine than others of the same age
• Male physicians in Sweden were more than twice as
  likely to be using tranquilizers as non-physicians

Rosvold, E. (U. of Oslo), Vaglum, P. (U. of
Oslo), Moum, T. (U. of Oslo), 1998, Use of minor
tranquilizers among Norwegian physicians. A
nation-wide comparative study. Social Science
Medicine, 46, 581-590.
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Excessive availability increases consumption

• Ill have just one.
• Its not like Im eating all 30 doughnuts or
  something!

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Excessive availability increases consumption
For any Scarface fans, you may recall that this
environment did not promote wise choices
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An experiment with rats

• Group A
• 5 unlimited bottles of water and
• 1 unlimited bottle of sugar water

Group B 1 unlimited bottle of water and 5
unlimited bottles of sugar water
Should it make any difference?
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Excessive availability increases consumption
Tordoff, M. G. (2002) Obesity by choice The
powerful influence of nutrient availability on
nutrient intake. American Journal of Physiology
Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative
Physiology, 282, 1536-1539.
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Excessive availability increases consumption

• Group A
• Average fat content of rats at end of 36 days 57
  grams

Group B Average fat content of rats at end of 36
days 76 grams
Both groups had unlimited access to Purina rodent
chow during the test.
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Excessive availability increases consumption
Any relevance for humans?
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What about alcohol?

• Group A
• 5 unlimited bottles of water and
• 1 unlimited bottle of 10 alcohol

Group B 1 unlimited bottle of water and 5
unlimited bottles of 10 alcohol
Did it make any difference?
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Excessive availability increases consumption

• Group A
• Alcohol intake grams per kilogram of mouse body
  weight 9.4

Group B Alcohol intake grams per kilogram of
mouse body weight 23.4
What about with different ratios? What about a
different breed? What about a rat instead of
mouse?
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Excessive availability increases consumption
Tordoff, M. G., Bachmanov, A. A. (2003)
Influence of the number of alcohol and water
bottles on murine alcohol intake. Alcoholism
Clinical and Experimental Research, 27(4),
600-606.
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Excessive availability increases consumption (in
humans)

• Large packages, plates, and serving bowls have
  all been shown to increase how much a person
  serves and consumes by 15 to 45 percent.
• B. Wansink (Cornell), D. Just (Cornell), C.
  Payne (New Mexico State U), 2009, Mindless eating
  and health heuristics for the irrational.
  American Economic Review, 2009, 99(2), 165-169.

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An experiment with popcorn

• 158 people going to a movie theatre in
  Philadelphia were offered free popcorn.
• The sizes were large enough so that nobody
  finished all the popcorn.
• Group A had a 120g bucket. Group B had a 240 g
  bucket.

What do you think? Did size make a difference?
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Results

• Group with large buckets consumed 85.6 grams on
  average.
• Group with medium buckets consumed 58.9 grams on
  average.

popcorn
popcorn
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OK, but what if the popcorn didnt taste good?

• At the same time, another group was given 14-day
  old popcorn in medium and large buckets.
• This popcorn tasted good (1strongly disagree
  9strongly agree)
• Medium container fresh 7.7 old 3.9
• Large container fresh 6.8 old 2.2
• Will people eat more bad popcorn just because it
  is in a bigger container?

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Results

• Group with large buckets of 14-day old popcorn
  consumed 50.8 grams.
• Group with medium buckets of 14-day old popcorn
  consumed 38.0 grams.

Wansink, B. Kim, J. (2005) Bad popcorn in big
buckets Portion size can influence intake as
much as taste. Journal of Nutrition Education and
Behavior, 37(5), 242-245.
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Size Almost as important as taste!
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Excessive availability and consumption

• In one study, unknowing diners were served
  tomato soup in bowls that were refilled through
  concealed tubing that ran through the table and
  into the bottom of the bowls. People eating from
  these bottomless bowls consumed 73 more soup
  than those eating from normal bowls but estimated
  that they ate only 4.8 calories more (Wansink,
  Painter, North, 2005).

B. Wansink (Cornell) J. Sobal (Cornell), 2007,
Mindless eating The 200 daily food decisions we
overlook. Environment Behavior, 39(1), 106-123,
p. 109.
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Environment control or eating control?

• In an exploratory study applying 10 weight loss
  techniques that had been effective in laboratory
  settings to real world volunteers
• The two most effect techniques changed only the
  eating environment.
• The two least effective changed eating behavior.

Technique 1. Use 10-inch plates 2. Dont eat
with TV on . . 8. Limit snacks to three bites 9.
Brush teeth instead of snacking 10. Eat oatmeal
for breakfast
Lbs. monthly weight loss -1.93 -1.58 -0.29 0
.18 0.83
B. Wansink (Cornell), D. Just (Cornell), C.
Payne (New Mexico State U), 2009, Mindless eating
and health heuristics for the irrational.
American Economic Review, 2009, 99(2), 165-169.
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Excessive availability and consumption

• In the previous study, using smaller, 10-inch,
  plates was one of the top two techniques for
  weight loss.

B. Wansink (Cornell), D. Just (Cornell), C.
Payne (New Mexico State U), 2009, Mindless eating
and health heuristics for the irrational.
American Economic Review, 2009, 99(2), 165-169.
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Excessive availability and consumption
Why might food availability during TV watching be
especially relevant according to the dual-self
approach?

• In the previous study, not eating with the TV on
  was one of the top two techniques for weight loss.

B. Wansink (Cornell), D. Just (Cornell), C.
Payne (New Mexico State U), 2009, Mindless eating
and health heuristics for the irrational.
American Economic Review, 2009, 99(2), 165-169.
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Now that you know

• Class of MBA students were presented with 90
  minute class session to prove that if they
  snacked from gallon bowls of Chex Mix they would
  eat more than if they snacked from half-gallon
  bowls.
• At a Super Bowl party six weeks later, half were
  directed to a buffet table with two one-gallon
  bowls of Chex Mix, the other to a buffet table
  with four ½ gallon bowls.
• Did the bigger bowls still have an effect?

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The result of your knowledge

• Group with 4, half-gallon bowls ate 47.8 grams
  avg.
• Group with 2, one-gallon bowls ate 74.8 grams
  avg.
• When asked afterwards if they believed the size
  of the serving bowls influenced them, they denied
  it influenced them.

B Wansink, MM Cheney (2005) Journal of the
American Medical Association, 293(14), 1727-1728
B. Wansink, D. Just, C. Payne (2009) American
Economic Review, 2009, 99(2), 165-169.
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Dont argue with an elephant
Now, see here elephant, just because this is a
big bowl has nothing to do with our need for
calories or how much we should eat.
You watch TV. Ill eat.

• Long-term
• Patient
• Planner
• Impartial spectator
• Deliberative
• Cold state

• Short-term
• Impulsive
• Doer
• Passions
• Affective/Visceral
• Hot state

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Conclusion

• Environment control still trumps self control,
  even when
• You are taught about the effects of environment
  on your decisions, and
• You dont believe that the environment is
  changing your decisions
• Your KNOWLEDGE of the impact of environment on
  your behavior
• and your BELIEF about the impact of environment
  on your behavior
• doesnt CHANGE the impact of the environment on
  your behavior.

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So, what can we do?

• Whether we admit it or not, more knowledge wont
  change the impact of environment on our
  behaviors.
• But, changing our environment can change our
  behaviors.

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So why wont we just change our environment to
match our goals?

• We irrationally believe that we will make better
  immediate choices in the future than the
  immediate choices we make right now (hyperbolic
  discounting)
• We irrationally believe that our rider self
  will always be in total control (projection bias)
• We have an irrational preference for maximizing
  options (paradox of choice)

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Writing participation assignment

• For health reasons, I would like to increase the
  amount of raw vegetables, like carrots and
  celery, I eat. They dont taste bad, but they
  arent that exciting, either.

I would like to reduce the amount of sugar I eat,
but I have problems with self-control because I
really like sweets.

• What practical suggestions can you think of to
  help each person by employing the principal of
  Environment control trumps self-control because
  availability beats cognition?
• Work with one or more people around you and
  discuss. Have one person write down all of the
  different suggestions you can come up with and
  sign all of your names to the page.

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