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Cognitive Biases Decoy Effect
The Decoy
You are about to do a quick shopping run. 6 everyday products, each with a couple of pricing tiers. Just pick whichever option you would actually buy.
1For each product, choose the tier that feels like the best deal to you.
2Some rounds quietly offer a third option. Pick honestly either way.
3At the end, we compare your choices to show what that third option did.
The concept· Huber, Payne & Puto, 1982 (attraction effect)
Decoy Effect
The decoy effect is when adding a clearly-inferior third option pushes people toward a pricier target option it is designed to flatter. The decoy is not meant to be bought; it exists to make its neighbour look like a bargain.
Pricing pages, subscription tiers, and menus routinely include a decoy tier nobody is meant to choose, just to make the target option look smart. The choice feels like yours, but the menu was built to bend it.