Persusion Scarcity

What are the main ideas behind the scarcity heuristic?

• Opportunities seem more valuable to us when they are less available

• Availability vs. value

•   Perceived value increases as availability decreases

 

For persuaders, the goal is to create a sense of “limited availability”

Which is more effective:  threats of loss or promises of gain?  Explain why. 

Threats of loss are more persuasive because we work harder to avoid losing something than to get something new.

Scarcity can be applied to which one of the theories we have discussed this semester?

Reactance theory

What example does Cialdini provide that is related to cookie jars?  What is the major idea behind this example?

One jar had 10 cookies.The other jar had 2 cookies. Even though the cookies were identical, people rated the cookies from the scarce jar. So even when the product is the same, our brain sees the scarce one as better just because it’s rarer.

What are some of the main defenses against the scarcity principle?

• When you feel the arousal of a scarcity situation, calm down

• Pay attention to the situation and think about how much you actually want the object itself