16 January 2008: The Price Isn't Right

The more something costs, the more people think they enjoy it, according to a study by the California Institute of Technology.

Researchers found that because people expect wines that cost more to be of higher quality, they convince themselves that expensive wines provide a more pleasurable experience than cheaper ones.

In the study, subjects tested samples that were all the same wine, but they were told the samples were wines sold at different prices. They reported more pleasure when tasting the samples they were told cost more, and their brain responses confirmed this.

"We have known for a long time that people's perceptions are affected by marketing, but now we know that the brain itself is modulated by price," said the authors of the study.