Take the D Word Off the Table
September 10, 2024
In a famous study done a couple of decades ago, researchers wanted to see whether the “proximity and salience of a food” influenced how much of it was consumed. Jars were filled with candy and placed in an office. Some of them were put directly on workers’ desks; others were placed six feet away from them. Some of the containers were opaque; others were transparent. When the study’s results were tallied, it was found that people reached into the jars more often when the candy was visible, and especially when the jars were close at hand.
It seems as though the more often you’re presented with an option, the more you think about it, and the more you think about an option, the more likely you are to exercise it.
