Examining the Zero-Price Effect from an Evolutionary Perspective (2011)

Undergraduate: Mason Jenkins

Faculty Advisor: Joseph Lowman
Department: Psychology & Neuroscience

---

Seeking to provide an evolutionary explanation for the “zero-price” which Dan Ariely explains in his book Predictably Irrational, I expanded the choices of items offered to examine whether essential needs like lodging or sexual selection fitness indicators provide instances where the zero-price effect doesn’t hold true. Surveys were given to one hundred UNC undergraduate students asking their purchasing preference on two items. Two experimental conditions were used – one with both items having costs and one where the lower-quality item is free. The results continued to support the zero-price effect for the majority of items, but with lodging, the zero-price effect didn’t hold true. With items like clothing and cars, men were much more likely than women to incur a cost to obtain the higher-quality and higher-status item. The results add layers to Ariely’s initial research and support the hypothesis that the types of items and sex of the chooser have a substantial effect on the choices made.