“Psychology and Spirituality” plus 1 more

Posted: 04 Jan 2011 07:31 AM PST

Something interesting happened as I wrote "The 7: Seven Wonders That Will Change Your Life" with my friend Glenn Beck, released by our publisher Jan 4.

As we identified and explored the seven key principles Glenn had used to change his life, which happen to be the very same principles I tap into to help patients, I began to change.

I came to understand more clearly than ever that the power of therapy to change lives is very much about helping people understand that there really is a true path through life that is theirs to take—quite literally meant for them—and that alcoholism, anxiety, being very overweight, depression, shattered relationships and all sorts of difficulties in life stem from being unable to find that path and pursue it.

The existence of one's path—or destiny, if you will—is inexplicable and immeasurable and, as such, a kind of miracle. It has always and it will always defy scientific explanation. Finding it requires courage to begin looking for it, faith that it does indeed exist, a clear view of the wrong turns one has taken in life (i.e., truth) and an ability to forgive one self and others for those detours (i.e., compassion).

One's true self is so powerful that trying to deny it creates emotional pain that we seek to cover up with alcohol and drugs, overeating, sexual addictions, compulsive gambling, a ceaseless quest for material goods, addiction to work and endless surfing on the Web. The list could go on and on. But no manner of distraction will suffice to keep the suffering of being estranged from one's self at bay. Your truth will not be denied. And that's a very, very good thing—for you and for the rest of us who can benefit from your gifts.

I now see more clearly than ever that helping people identify and embrace their own beliefs, inclinations, hopes and dreams is essentially helping them embrace God. And if I may have been timid about saying so before, I am no longer.

As we quote more than once in The 7:
You are the temple of God.
--Corinthians 3:16

Dr. Keith Ablow is a psychiatrist and member of the Fox News Medical A-Team. He is a New York Times best-selling author, and co-author, with Glenn Beck, of the book "The 7: Seven Wonders That Will Change Your Life". Dr. Ablow can be reached at info@keithablow.com.

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The psychology of the spend

Posted: 04 Jan 2011 09:03 AM PST

DAKSHANA BASCARAMURTY

From Tuesday's Globe and Mail

Published Tuesday, Jan. 04, 2011 11:31AM EST

Last updated Tuesday, Jan. 04, 2011 12:00PM EST

The I Am Rich iPhone application was pulled off iTunes a day after it hit the market. But before that happened, eight big spenders each shelled out $999.99 (U.S.) for the app, which doesn't do anything more than flash a glowing red gem onscreen. Its only purpose? To tell the world, um, "I am rich." A shocking price tag to most, but not Eduardo Porter. The New York Times editorial writer says dropping almost a grand on an iPhone app that doesn't do much isn't so different from coughing up thousands of dollars for a painting.

More related to this story

"The price is a signal about you, not about the thing," he explains. "When you pay something for something you're sending a signal about the quality of person that you are. About the resources at your command."

In his new book, The Price of Everything, Mr. Porter explores the history of pricing and the different psychological processes we go through when determining how much we're willing to pay – for everything from an Americano to printer ink. He spoke to The Globe and Mail from his office in New York.

Why do we seem to get greater satisfaction when we know we've paid more for something?

We have this empirical fact that we respond to prices at least for some goods in this weird way. People who have looked at brain scans have found that the higher price actually stimulates the brain. It's something that has to do with our neurological makeup. It's not that we're just told that expensive stuff is better and therefore we hold that as a memory and we use that as a rule of thumb; it seems to be something deeper than that.

You cite a study that was done on sports clubs: Participants could choose between a membership for $70 a month or buy a single pass. Even when people realize they aren't going as often and it would be the more economical choice to use single passes, they stick with their memberships. Tell me about the added value that comes from this.

It's the purchasing of a commitment device, right? You invest into this and you only reap the rewards. You pay money that you will only get back if you do meet the goal of, let's say, dieting or exercising or whatnot.

Is that also the strategy behind negative-option billing? You're not physically paying each time, taking that money out and parting with it.

There's convenience but it also makes it hard to compare prices. You just do it automatically. The more thoughtful process – of "Is this cheaper than this?' "Is this a better deal than that?" – gets swept under the rug.

Prices for consumer goods are determined by how much competition there is for them. The Internet was supposed to make it so much easier for us to find out how much product X costs at all stores without physically checking them out. Do you feel that it has had that effect? Are consumers more empowered now?

To be honest, I don't think so. I think this only encourages manufacturers to, in fact, make their things not easily comparable through changes in the settings, changes in colour, changes in shape, changes in the mode of payment, in adding or not adding transportation costs all these things that make it a little bit more of a chore to compare A and B.

Companies load computers with cookies and stuff [to] track how people are shopping. I think the Internet will allow a level of price discrimination we've never seen, because companies will have an amount of information about our shopping habits and our price elasticities that's going to be awesome. I think that would act against empowering us as consumers.

You say that when something is free we tend to consume a lot more than we would otherwise. Why are these offers of "Buy this product and get this other doohickey that you will have absolutely no use for" so enticing to consumers?

It seems like we're psychologically primed to like something for nothing. There is this great example with Amazon gift cards. If you offered a $20 card for $5 and a $10 card for $1, people would go for the $20 card because they were getting a $15 benefit rather than a $9 benefit. But if you drop each by a dollar so you were getting the $10 card for zero, people just move their preference to the zero, as if that number had some special significance. If we're paying zero it's better, no matter what.

This interview has been edited and condensed.

Psychology

Tuesday, January 4, 2011