Value: It’s All In Your Mind

Have you noticed the snazzy new “donate today” bar graph on Wikipedia? Donating used to be on the extreme down-low at this site. You had to seek out the link with charitable zeal — something I don’t tend to have at the great Wiki. If I’m there, I’m in a hurry for a jumping-off point for infomation.

But this bar graph does three compelling things. First, it’s at the top in full color, so you can’t miss it. Second, it’s gone all marketing savvy, with the slogan, “Wikipedia is there when you need it. Now it needs you.” No more with the half-embarrassed-to-be-asking, “please.” Third, the base of the graph lists how many millions have donated to date, with the total goal, 6 million, at the other end.

Clear, compelling, primal. Who doesn’t want to step right up and swing that hammer? Ding! Ah, one notch closer to the end! I recognize the marketing for what it is, and that it’s working on me. I’m much more likely to donate because of this savvy approach.

I’ve been noticing how my brain processes value cues in relation to money quite a bit lately, so there’ll be more on this subject soon.

For now I’ll leave you with a snippet of Dan Ariely, king of the branch of psychology called behavioral economics that delves into the brain/money connection.

(His book, Predictably Irrational, btw, would make a very fine Christmas gift for a certain blogger who has discovered that the library has its limits when it comes to super-popular selections like this one.)

In this clip, he’s talking about experiments that found if people were told a placebo pill they were taking was cheap, it had less effect on their pain than if they were told it was expensive. Likewise, people who were given “discounted” energy drinks tired faster and solved fewer puzzles and word problems than those who were given an “expensive” energy drink. (This part starts at about the 2:40 mark.)

Enjoy! Or not. After all, it’s up to your brain.