Achievement

IGERT trainee Ben Bushong conducted research that found the amount consumers are willing to pay for a good depends on the consummatory cues available to them, ranging from a picture of the good to proximity to the good, odor cues, and Pavlovian cues. Pavlovian cues include not only physical proximity to the good but its accessibility. This research achievement helps to attain the research goals of our IGERT by using the choice architecture framework of behavioral neuroscience to address an basic problem in economic choice. Traditional economic models of consumer choice assume that the format in which a good is offered to a consumer has no effect on their valuation of that good. Ben’s research illustrates that various formats of a good’s presentation can engage different choice architectures, with a large (50%) variance in the ensuing valuation.