Comments on: The paradoxes of mental accounting http://mindhacks.com/2007/05/29/the-paradoxes-of-mental-accounting/ Neuroscience and psychology news and views. Sun, 19 May 2013 06:21:58 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: Rachel http://mindhacks.com/2007/05/29/the-paradoxes-of-mental-accounting/#comment-12466 Thu, 28 Oct 2010 18:56:40 +0000 http://mindhacksblog.wordpress.com/2007/05/29/the-paradoxes-of-mental-accounting/#comment-12466 I know this post is more than three years old, but I stumbled on it while searching “mental accounting” in Google. I was reading a post in another blog about specialized savings accounts, and someone left a comment stating that using this strategy to save money is mental accounting. Do you think it is?

http://unclutterer.com/2010/10/28/specialized-savings-accounts/

]]> By: Andrew http://mindhacks.com/2007/05/29/the-paradoxes-of-mental-accounting/#comment-7367 Wed, 13 Jun 2007 17:44:02 +0000 http://mindhacksblog.wordpress.com/2007/05/29/the-paradoxes-of-mental-accounting/#comment-7367 Actualy the article says you lost the $20 on the “Metro”. You’re more likely to somehow derive value out of the expired ticket (which is probably in your other pocket btw) than you are you find a $20 on a bus.

]]> By: jswolf19 http://mindhacks.com/2007/05/29/the-paradoxes-of-mental-accounting/#comment-7366 Wed, 30 May 2007 10:22:46 +0000 http://mindhacksblog.wordpress.com/2007/05/29/the-paradoxes-of-mental-accounting/#comment-7366 In my mind, the loss of the ticket and the loss of $20 are not the same. It’s possible that I might find either the ticket or the $20 later (that it’s misplaced instead of lost). However, the ticket will have become useless to me whereas the $20 will not have.

]]> By: prowler http://mindhacks.com/2007/05/29/the-paradoxes-of-mental-accounting/#comment-7365 Tue, 29 May 2007 17:49:51 +0000 http://mindhacksblog.wordpress.com/2007/05/29/the-paradoxes-of-mental-accounting/#comment-7365 haha actually, i might be inclined to react in the opposite way. i mean, if i lost the ticket, i might buy another out of inertia, thinking “hey i already bought this, so i must’ve thought it was worth it, so it has to be worth it one more time”
on the other hand, if i found out i’m $20 poorer before buying the ticket, i’d ask myself if that ticket is really worth buying :) yes i know, i’m a cheap bastard

]]> By: cszar http://mindhacks.com/2007/05/29/the-paradoxes-of-mental-accounting/#comment-7364 Tue, 29 May 2007 17:12:29 +0000 http://mindhacksblog.wordpress.com/2007/05/29/the-paradoxes-of-mental-accounting/#comment-7364 Interesting.
Howie Mandel – the Host of “Deal or no Deal” talked about stuff like that in a great interview on Penn Jillettes Radio Show.
He said that people rejected huge sums of money (upwards of 50.000$) because it wasn’t “their” money. They rather went home with nothing than with a small fortune.
Casinos all over the world are in business exactly because of this mechanism – they hand out chips because people playing with real paper money are a lot less willing to bet high.

]]> By: Martin Byröd http://mindhacks.com/2007/05/29/the-paradoxes-of-mental-accounting/#comment-7363 Tue, 29 May 2007 16:17:31 +0000 http://mindhacksblog.wordpress.com/2007/05/29/the-paradoxes-of-mental-accounting/#comment-7363 Great blog by the way. Only just stumbled in.

]]> By: Martin Byr√∂d http://mindhacks.com/2007/05/29/the-paradoxes-of-mental-accounting/#comment-7362 Tue, 29 May 2007 16:16:25 +0000 http://mindhacksblog.wordpress.com/2007/05/29/the-paradoxes-of-mental-accounting/#comment-7362 Well, although we some times behave in quite funny and irrational ways, one shouldn’t under estimate the “unconsious” decisions we make. There are often subtle but some times quite good reasons for these actions.
For instance, the people in the study mentioned probably enjoy gambling a bit and for them the thrill is probably worth the realtively small amount of money. However, if they do this in their everyday life with their normal salary money, how do they know when to stop? How can they be sure they won’t go gambling again next week and the week after that?
A simple rule like “I only play with small amounts of money I get ‘for free’” is perhaps not so stupid after all…
One could argue in a similar way with the ticket lost vs. cash lost example.

]]>