Introductions

In Introductions and Conclusions, it is stated that introductions consist of contextualizing the background of your issue, stating the problem, and responding to said problem. By setting up an introduction using the Context-Problem-Response formula, it allows for the reader to get really invested in your paper and wish to read more. To start off, the writer has to contextualize their information which is called “common ground” due to the fact that it “establishes a shared understanding between reader and writer about the general issue the writer will address.” (225) Following this the writer must state their problem and convince the reader that their research problem is significant and once it is resolved it will benefit everyone. After stating your problem, it is suggested that the writer ask, “So what?” Following this is the solution. In an introduction the writer can go one of two ways- they can promise that their issue will be solved later on in the essay or explicitly state the main points of what your solution is about. The author makes note that introductions do not necessarily always need all three parts of the Common Ground+Problem+Response set up because it depends on what your reader is familiar with regarding the topic you write about. However, this form allows the reader to find their way through the essay easier, and have them think more deeply about the topic at hand.

Ch. 12 Predictably Irrational Summary and Response

In chapter 12 of Predictably Irrational, author Dan Ariely explains that people will very easily be dishonest and cheat when they are one step removed from cash, or using non-monetary object before cash. Ariely performed another test looking for similar results. He set up three different groups, the first of which was the test group that had five minutes to solve 20 math questions and with each correct answer they received 50 cents. The second group had the same exact rules except after they finished the questions they were allowed to tear of their papers and tell the grader how many they got right for money. This provided an opportunity to be dishonest. The last group had the same conditions as the second group but were telling a grader their answers in exchange for coins that held no value. These coins were then traded in for actual money. Ariely discovered that the last group lied the most out of the control group and the second group  because there was an insertion of a token into the transaction that made the students less honest because they weren’t directly lying for money. This group ‘solved’ 5.9 more problems than the control group that didn't have any options of cheating. This proved that given the chance, people will cheat, but only if it’s a step away from actual money.

According to Ariely, cheating is easier when you're one step removed from cash because it is easier rationalize why we do certain dishonest acts. People who cheat or are dishonest when one step removed from actual money would most likely consider themselves honest people and would never actually want to steal actual money from people. Ariely performed several experiments to see if his theory was accurate, one of which involved putting a six-pack of coke in a college dormitory fridge as well as a plate with six one dollar bills on it. Ariely tested to see how long it would take until all of each item was taken, and soon found out it took less than 72 hours for all of the coke’s to be taken, yet the money was never stolen. Ariely concluded that people rarely cheat or be dishonest with cold hard cash, but they will be dishonest when something is one step removed from money because it is easier to justify. This was shown in his testing example that I stated in my summary. This type of cheating relates directly to insurance fraud. When people report losses in their homes or with their cars they tend to exaggerate their claims by around 10%. For example, Ariely says that if someone owned a 27 inch television they would say that a 32 inch television was stolen from them. People who do this would be very unlikely to steal money directly from their insurance companies but by telling a lie about how grand their product was makes their lying justifiable. The rise of identity theft in America can be explained by Ariely's theory because people are not directly stealing money from people but rather are using a different mode to access these victims money. Ariely also looks into banks and what they are doing with credit card rates and how when people don't pay their bills in full the credit issuer will charge them a higher interest rate and charge interest rate on past purchases. This is an example of a company indirectly stealing from someone.

Ch. 11 of Predictably Irrational- Summary and Response

In Chapter 11 of Dan Ariely’s book, Predictably Irrational, he discusses how there are different types of dishonesty, and how we perceive dishonesty differently by who does the dishonest acts and what kind of acts they are. Ariel explain that there is the standard image of dishonesty that appears in the form of crooks circling around a gas station, debating whether or not they should rob it. The second image is that of people who would typically consider themselves to be honest people- these are the people who might take a pen from a conference site or take some extra soda from a drink dispenser. This second group it the one Ariely decided to test to see how prevalent this type of honesty was. his subjects consisted of students from Harvard University. Ariel asked the students to take a test of 50 multiple choice questions in 15 minutes. The students then had to transfer their answers to a scoring sheet (bubble sheet). However, Ariely broke this process up into four groups to test dishonesty. One group twas the group Ariely compared the other three to- these were just students who took the test normally and just transferred their answers to the bubble sheet. The second group had premarked correct answers on their bubble sheet, the third, had premarked answers and and could shred their original worksheet, and the fourth could shred both the original worksheet and the premarked bubble sheet. Ariel’s results showed that each group with the premarked bubble sheet cheated- but only slightly. Even though they were given the chance to cheat more, they chose to play it safe. Ariel claims that there is a cost-benefit analysis when it comes to honesty or dishonesty. Ariel claims that honesty is important to people, but that people’s internal honesty monitor in the Superego is only active when people think about committing big transgressions. Ariely suggests that if people use non-religious benchmarks that make people think about honesty before the take tests, for example, it may reduce the amount of dishonesty we see.

Dan Ariely states that in order to curb dishonesty in our lives we should have reminders of honesty before we do anything important. SO little reminders before people make big decisions can curb dishonesty. Students deal with a great deal of temptation on a daily basis. We deal with the temptation of what Ariely already mentioned, that of cheating, especially in classes where the teachers aren’t as stern or attentive. We also face temptation to skip class for extra time to sleep, hang out with friends, or to catch up on work. There is also temptation from friends to go out and not do work. Students commit small transgressions, like maybe doing an assignment and copying some answers from a friend and rewording them or perhaps lying to their teachers about why their assignments aren’t completed (ex: my computer isn’t working). 

Chapter 2 Summary and Response for Predictably Irrational

In Dan Ariely’s 2008 book, Predictably Irrational, he explains how the first price we see for a good or experience affects how much we are willing to pay in the future. Ariely compares the human brain to that of a gosling which imprints on the first thing it sees after birth. Ariely claims consumers anchor to the first price they see and that arbitrary coherence, or when initial prices shape present and future prices we see, is very present in peoples minds. Both of these were shown in the class experiments Ariely and his colleagues did at MIT where they asked students to use the last two digits of their social security numbers to determine if they would pay that price for a given list of goods. They then asked them to indicate what the maximum amount they would pay for each object was. Their starting number affected their decisions in the future meaning, if they had a lower number at the start they were willing to pay less for items. The same thing happened to the people starting off with higher numbers- they were willing to pay higher prices for the exact same items. Ariely explains how price tags become anchors when the consumer considers buying something at the particular price it is offered at. This affects all future decisions.  Ariely also claims that humans participate in herding and self-herding which happens when the consumer thinks something is good or bad based not heir previous behavior. Ariely shows this in an example of someone who switches from buying Dunkin’ Donuts coffee to slowly becoming a committed Starbucks fan. This shows that anchors can switch over time. In all, Ariely claims that the first choices we make heavily influence the choices we make in the future.

In Dan Ariely’s book, Predictably Irrational, anchoring is described as the first price the consumer sees. Arbitrary coherence is described by Ariely as, “although initial prices are arbitrary, once those prices are established in our minds they will shape not only present prices but also future prices.” (p. 26) As Ariely and his colleagues class experiments show, if you start off paying a higher price, that determines how much you are willing to pay for things in the future (you’ll pay higher prices for items). If you start with lower prices, you will also pay lower prices for certain items. So if a person worked really hard to raise $3,000 for a used car, they would most likely be a more frugal consumer in the future, not only because that student worked hard for their money, but because $3,000 of a car isn’t very expensive. They would stick to their anchor price. Ariely also discusses how it is assumed that consumers willingness to pay is one of the two inputs that determine demand or market prices as they’re also known. But Ariely’s experiments shows that consumers can be easily manipulated which means they really don’t have a good control over what they want and how much they’re willing to pay for various goods and experiences. Also, supply and demand are dependent forces, not independent. Market prices influence how much consumers are wiling to pay for things showing how supply and demand are connected entities. This is the fallacy of supply and demand.

Harford Draft- Organization of Paragraphs

Towards the middle of my essay when I start discussing how Harford’s concepts relate to my question about Wegman’s tomato pasta sauce, I try to bring up the concept of price-sensitivity several times in different paragraphs. This relates to the first strategy, Repeat key Words or Phrases. Because I feel like price-sensitivity is relevant to explaining my question, I connect it several times throughout my explanation of Harford and how it relates to Wegman’s sauce.

    “So how exactly does Wegman’s relate to the ways of the economy? In Tim Harford’s book, The Undercover Economist, Harford explains several key economic terms like price targeting, leaks, and price-sensitivity using familiar businesses strategies. Harford provides an example of Starbucks coffee and the various locations Starbucks chooses to place itself at. Starbucks are typically located in areas where there are many people who need a convenient coffee fix. These consumers, many of whom are in a rush on their way to work, are looking for any cup of coffee that is located where they are headed. If a Starbucks is positioned in a place where consumers are price-blind, or ignore how much an item costs, then they will make a great deal of money. In addition, Starbucks products all cost around the same price to make, but it uses different methods to target their customers who are price-insensitive.  Offering a variety of alternatives to customers, such as various drink sizes or adding whipped cream and different syrups to your drink allows Starbucks to have customers self-incriminate, thus showing if they really care about price or not.
    How exactly does Wegman’s target it’s price-sensitive and insensitive customers though? There are many different brands of pasta sauce that it would seem to be a challenge to get people to buy their organic brands first. As Harford explains with his Starbucks analogy, stores cannot force people to pay prices that they don’t wish to pay. Providing customers an area like an organic section allows Wegman’s to determine who is actually price-sensitive and who isn’t. The prices of classic pasta sauce, while not extraordinarily expensive, still vary tremendously from costing around $1.50 up to around $7.00. So Wegman’s offers a variety of cheap to expensive sauces, but making it easier to fool customers into choosing the more expensive options by altering the location and look of their products.
    Harford also discusses leaks, or potential holes that could negatively impact a company’s marketing schemes. There are several leaks to what Wegman’s does when marketing it’s tomato sauce. As Harford explains, it can be very challenging to get price-insensitive people to avoid buying a cheaper option, specifically when it comes substantial buying decisions. However, Harford expands on this idea further on when he states that supermarkets in particular have specific strategies from avoiding even the most price-insensitive customers from thinking about buying a cheaper option which Harford claims happens often. Supermarkets focus on certain customers who unknowingly self-target by making their value products more unattractive than their more expensive options. As Harford states, “...the packaging is carefully designed to put off customers who are willing to pay more. Even customers who would be willing to pay five times as much for a bottle of lemonade will buy the bargain product unless the supermarket makes some effort to discourage them.” (p.Harford, 51) This is what Wegman’s does when it created it’s cheap, non-organic value pasta sauce. The design as I explained earlier, looked cheaper and less attractive. Their organic sauce however looked clean and fresh- it looked like a product people would actually want to buy.”

I think to fix this section I could possibly incorporate more ideas and terms because I am lacking in that area. If I added more, I would be able to connect these terms to more material. I also think I need to be more specific in my detailing of the prices of the products and by doing so, I could mention these differences throughout my other paragraphs to emphasize my point.


The seventh strategy is to define a concept for the reader. I attempt to do this in various sections of my paper when explaining Tim Harford’s ideas. This can be seen in my paragraphs about price targeting and sensitivity as well as leaks, all of which are terms I think are essential to explaining my research question. In the first paragraph I use Harford’s Starbucks example to to describe how consumers can be price-blind, which I give a definition of, but notied that I do not explain price-insensitivity or self-incrimination. Although it may be easier to understand what they mean because I provided context clues, I never really explain them which is very problematic. I think the details in this paragraph are important because my research is about determining how Legman’s persuades it’s consumers to purchase more expensive organic options, so if I want to have an effective research paper, I need toe explain my terms better so I can convey my point correctly. I also, think these concepts should be explained earlier on in my essay because these definitions do not come until about halfway through after I have described my evidence I collected.

    “So how exactly does Wegman’s relate to the ways of the economy? In Tim Harford’s book, The Undercover Economist, Harford explains several key economic terms like price targeting, leaks, and price-sensitivity using familiar businesses strategies. Harford provides an example of Starbucks coffee and the various locations Starbucks chooses to place itself at. Starbucks are typically located in areas where there are many people who need a convenient coffee fix. These consumers, many of whom are in a rush on their way to work, are looking for any cup of coffee that is located where they are headed. If a Starbucks is positioned in a place where consumers are price-blind, or ignore how much an item costs, then they will make a great deal of money. In addition, Starbucks products all cost around the same price to make, but it uses different methods to target their customers who are price-insensitive.  Offering a variety of alternatives to customers, such as various drink sizes or adding whipped cream and different syrups to your drink allows Starbucks to have customers self-incriminate, thus showing if they really care about price or not.”
   
I do a better job in defining concepts in my paragraph about leaks because I make sure that I provided a clear definition and related it back to my research. I included quotes from Harford himself to support my ideas so the concept is better understood by people who read the paper. Again, this idea could be introduced earlier on in my essay, and perhaps another example of a leak that doesn’t relate to my research could help effectively explain my research.


“Harford also discusses leaks, or potential holes that could negatively impact a company’s marketing schemes. There are several leaks to what Wegman’s does when marketing it’s tomato sauce. As Harford explains, it can be very challenging to get price-insensitive people to avoid buying a cheaper option, specifically when it comes substantial buying decisions. However, Harford expands on this idea further on when he states that supermarkets in particular have specific strategies from avoiding even the most price-insensitive customers from thinking about buying a cheaper option which Harford claims happens often. Supermarkets focus on certain customers who unknowingly self-target by making their value products more unattractive than their more expensive options. As Harford states, “...the packaging is carefully designed to put off customers who are willing to pay more. Even customers who would be willing to pay five times as much for a bottle of lemonade will buy the bargain product unless the supermarket makes some effort to discourage them.” (p.Harford, 51) This is what Wegman’s does when it created it’s cheap, non-organic value pasta sauce. The design as I explained earlier, looked cheaper and less attractive. Their organic sauce however looked clean and fresh- it looked like a product people would actually want to buy.”



I also employ strategy 13 or Spatial Patterns in my essay when describing the layout of Wegman’s. Spatial patterns are used to describe a space you’re discussing in detail. 

    “I decided to do my observations while I did my own shopping so I could get the feel of how a shopper would interpret the area better. On your way inside, Wegman’s effortlessly pushes you to the right side of the store. Most people who go to Wegman’s for their weekly grocery shopping would go this way because produce, meat, and baked goods are all on this side. Once leaving these sections, there is a dairy aisle that leads the consumer into the larger section of the store. The first thing you see as you enter this section is the organic food aisle making it almost impossible to miss. Although it is in plain sight, many people could just walk past it, so how does it differentiate from the rest of the store? Wegman’s already does a great job of leading people to the section, and does an even better job of making it a place the consumer wants to be. Surrounding this area are all enticing things such as fancy teas and yoga mats, and even the labels on the foods are beautiful and eye-catching. This section feels calmer than the rest of the store.”

As you can see I try to utilize this in my third paragraph of my essay when explaining the importance of the organic section in Wegman’s. I try to set up the paragraph as vividly as possible so if someone who had never been to the Ithaca Wegman’s before could visualize the store. I start off by describing walking into the store and how the consumer is encouraged to go to the right because that is where all of the essentials to cooking, such as produce, dairy, and meat, are located. By going this way, the consumer has to eventually pass by the organic section which is right past the dairy section and is very hard to miss because it is a distinctive area. I think this paragraph does a lot what I want it to- it sets up the area where my research will be taking place, and allows the reader to create a strong mental image. However, in the there is a way I could use this strategy could be used more.It was recommended in my feedback on my essay that I should discuss the context of the products and how they communicate quality. I could discuss the types of things this section has and how they look because I do not do that in this section at all.

The Believing Game Summary

In Peter Elbow’s 2008 paper, The Believing Game- Methodological Believing, Elbow discusses the differences and importance of both believing and doubting information. Elbow defines what he calls the doubting game as “…the disciplined practice of trying to be as skeptical and analytic is often called critical thinking and is used to discover weaknesses in ideas, especially ones that appear to be truthful or attract people. Elbow defines the believing game as the practice of attempting to be as welcoming or accepting as possible to ideas we hear. With this method there is no attempt to argue the ideas but an effort to strongly believe them on order to find hidden virtues. Elbow says from early on in life we start out believing everything we hear because our trust in others is strong. As adults, people believe the obvious things, what people they trust say, and what culture tells them to do. This is jeopardized when people are betrayed, which leads to doubt. Elbow mentions Methodological doubting which he believes is central to the definition of the scientific method and is used to try and disprove hypotheses. Elbow further emphasizes however that believing is a tool we also need to use but is seen as tainted with many problems. He claims that the believing game helps people find flaws in their own thinking, choose among positions, and achieve goals that the doubting game neglects. The believing game fills in the gaps that the doubting games misses, and allows people to dwell in an idea in order to understand it better.

IC Bookstore Blog Post

In the IC bookstore, things are positioned very thoughtfully throughout the store. Things are grouped in certain ways that I have never noticed before, but have definitely fallen for. In the back right of the store there are baby clothes with cute phrases and the IC logo. Positioned on the shelf right next to these are stuffed animals wearing the IC logo. Naturally, the store is trying to get into the mind of a consumer who is buying a gift for a baby, and feels that if they're buying clothes, they might also want to buy the baby a toy. Because this is the only section of the store with baby clothes and products, customers cannot price match, so they will automatically buy these things there. There were also things like tattoos and hats for big Ithaca sports events that are placed right near the checkout counter, so if someone sees this and knows there is  big game coming up, especially Cortaca, they'll immediately grab these and buy them. Another example I noticed were these very nice sweaters right in the front of the store on their own separate table with a 25% off sign in the front. These sweaters were very nice, and since it had a discount, people would most likely buy them because the price is reduced, even without checking the prices of other sweaters. The funny thing about these sweaters though, were that there was no price tag attached to them. I think the store believes that since college students love sales, they will automatically purchase the sweaters without thinking twice. When you get to the middle of the store there are some nice Nike and Under Armour products that are extremely expensive. However, these are well known brands that appear to have high quality products, so students will go for them. The sweatshirts are strategically placed near the shorts, leggings, and T-shirts. These items were in the price range of $50-70 which is extremely pricey. The sweatshirts and shorts in the back of the store however were much cheaper (around $30). For people who are price-insensitive won't spend time going to the back of the store to buy the cheaper sweatshirts/shorts/t-shirts. Possible leaks for this is that students will typically be at school for 4 years, so they will eventually explore the entire store and notice the hidden sales racks and cheaper options.