Rationalization” or “thinking things through” is embraced in North american culture as a “wise thing” to do, but based on the results of this strawberry jam taste test, more thinking and rationalizing one’s choices led to choosing the worst ranked jams! It turns out that we can justify even the worst products and services if we over-think 畫室 the choices. This is not the only experiment that supports these results. Studies on cheap versus expensive wines and cheap art versus expensive art, all lead to the same result that over analyzing your choices leads to the worst choices. The “placebo effect” is to blame in all of these situations. When your brain has the expectation of something, it will work to reframe your choice to support your decision, no matter if it’s the wrong one.
There are two parts of your brain that can kick in when making a buying decision: The prefrontal cortex and the limbic system. The prefrontal cortex is what depends on logic and rational thought, while the limbic system is what controls all of your emotional responses, both conscious and unconscious. Keep in mind that this is a very general explanation for the purposes of understanding how we make buying decision.
The limbic system is what kicks in when an airline pilot makes a split second decision to avert a plane crash, or an FBI agent’s decision to shoot in a hostage situation, and even the decision to purchase strawberry jam. Essentially, all of these choices are difficult to explain through rational thought, yet all of them involve the use of our intuition. Our intuitive choices are patterns that our brains have developed based on past expectations and the results of those expectations. The more experiences you go through, the more your brain is able to register intuitive responses to those situations when they come up again. Each time an expectation turns out to be false, your brain adjusts its intuitive capabilities so that when this situation comes up again in the future, it is ready to trigger an emotional response. Ever have that feeling that something was not right? That’s your emotional brain telling you the answer based on a past experience. The challenge is to decode what exactly is “wrong” by understanding your emotions.
Your brain will tell you when you have found the right home, but it is all to easy to rationalize your purchase before giving your brain the tools and sensory inputs it needs to tell you what is right for you. Home builders know this when they make their model homes look great or when home stagers make a home look perfect! Our brains will fall in love with the look of a home, but then we’ll justify that look by rationalizing all the reasons that we should buy that home. Meanwhile, your emotional brain may be telling you that it is a far commute from and to work; that the builder’s reputation is not the best; that you will have to spend money after the closing on a fence, deck or shed, and the list can go on and on. I am not against buying a new home, but I wanted to use this as a classic example of how rationalizing a purchase can block out essential costs and factors when buying a new home. So how do you give your brain the right sensory inputs?
The best and most effective way to give your emotional brain the right inputs is to give it more experiences from which it can draw subconscious conclusions in order to help you decide should you choose to tap into those emotions. Go out and see as many homes as you can! Take your time in each home, developing a sense of likes and dislikes, without justifying each. Do this over several weeks so that you are not relying on “excitement” to make a decision. (Excitement is related to the chemical known as dopamine, which is covered in another article). I also urge you to make a list of “must have” and “absolutely not”. When you visit each house, become attuned to your list and make notes as they relate to your list. Intuitively, your emotional brain will develop a sense for what you want and trigger a positive feeling or a negative one as you visit more homes. The next time you stop by the grocery store to pick up some strawberry jam, appreciate the fact that your brain can help you pick the best tasting (emotional) one or the one that tastes the worst, but meets all seemingly logical criteria for choosing jam (rational). It may save you from making a bigger mistake like buying a home for the wrong reasons! Mortgage Agent: Joe Ornato owns and operates The Mortgage Centre-The Mortgage professionals Inc. in London, Ontario that provides strategic mortgage advice and financial coaching to Canadians in order to get of debt quicker and with a plan.