In six experiments involving 670 participants, the researchers showed that subjects who have a pleasant and relaxing experience tend to place a higher economic value on products such as a digital camera, a treatment forspa or an ice cream for those who experience the same level of pleasure but without the feeling of relaxation. According to Michel Tuan Pham, co-author of the research, there isa psychological reaction to the biology of relaxation: the body “considers that there is no threat in the environment, and as a result we perceive things as more desirable than in other states”. Pham assures that this phenomenon must be taken into account by consumers, since the level of relaxation affects when taking ofeconomic decisions.
On the other hand, as concluded by Pham and his colleagues in an article published in the next issue of the journalJournal of Marketing Research, when we relaxwe think that products are more valuable because we tend to evaluate them from a more abstract point of view, and that predisposes us to pay more. For example, in the case of the digital camera, a relaxed subject will appreciate more than the photo camera will allow him to preserve memories, while a non-relaxed individual will focus on assessing the objective technical characteristics of the device, such as the number of megapixels or the firing speed.
