Episodi

  • Why Your Brain Treats a Subscription as a Sunk Cost

    Why Your Brain Treats a Subscription as a Sunk Cost
    Jun 24 2026
    Episode 71 of Behavioral Economics with Fexingo explores the sunk cost fallacy and its powerful grip on subscription renewals. Lucas and Luna use the case of a $29.99/month gym membership to show how our brains double down on past investments, even when the rational choice is to cancel. They contrast gym behavior with streaming services, where companies exploit this bias through auto-renewal and annual plans. Listeners learn concrete strategies to recognize and resist the fallacy, including a simple 'cancel and re-evaluate' rule. The hosts also touch on broader implications for business pricing and personal finance, with specific data on how much Americans waste on unused subscriptions each year. A must-listen for anyone paying for services they no longer use. #SunkCostFallacy #SubscriptionEconomy #BehavioralEconomics #Economics #FexingoBusiness #BusinessPodcast #LucasAndLuna #GymMembership #AutoRenewal #Anchoring #LossAversion #ConsumerBehavior #PersonalFinance #DecisionMaking #CognitiveBias #StreamingServices #AnnualPlan #CancelCulture Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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    8 min
  • The Compromise Effect Why We Pick the Middle Option

    The Compromise Effect Why We Pick the Middle Option
    Jun 23 2026
    Episode 70 of Behavioral Economics with Fexingo digs into the compromise effect: why consumers consistently choose the mid-priced option, even when it makes no rational sense. Lucas and Luna explore a classic 1992 study by Simonson and Tversky involving microwave ovens, then connect it to modern examples like subscription tiers and car models. They unpack the psychological mechanism — extremeness aversion — and why your brain treats the middle as the safe default. Listeners learn how marketers use this bias to nudge them toward higher-margin items, and how awareness alone can shift spending decisions. The hosts also briefly discuss listener support via buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo, which keeps the show free and ad-free. #CompromiseEffect #ExtremenessAversion #ItamarSimonson #AmosTversky #DecisionBias #ConsumerChoice #BehavioralEconomics #MarketingPsychology #PricingStrategy #MiddleOption #MicrowaveOvenStudy #SubscriptionTiers #Irrationality #ChoiceArchitecture #Economics #BusinessPodcast #FexingoBusiness #BehavioralEconomicsWithFexingo Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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    8 min
  • The Decoy Effect How a Third Option Tricks Your Brain

    The Decoy Effect How a Third Option Tricks Your Brain
    Jun 23 2026
    Why do movie theaters sell giant popcorn for just a dollar more than medium? It's not about value — it's about a cognitive quirk called the decoy effect. In this episode, Lucas and Luna break down how a deliberately inferior third option can make you pick the most expensive choice without realizing it. They walk through classic experiments by Dan Ariely, real-world pricing strategies from The Economist and movie popcorn, and what happens when decoys show up in healthcare, dating apps, and your 401(k) menu. You'll learn to spot the trap, and maybe save yourself from buying the jumbo combo you didn't want. A sharp, fast-paced look at one of behavioral economics' most quietly powerful biases. #DecoyEffect #BehavioralEconomics #DanAriely #PricingStrategy #CognitiveBias #ConsumerChoice #TheEconomist #MoviePopcorn #AsymmetricDominance #Irrationality #Economics #FexingoBusiness #BusinessPodcast #DecisionMaking #ChoiceArchitecture #Nudge #Marketing #Psychology Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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    Non ancora noto
  • How Your Brain Makes You Overpay for Fairness

    How Your Brain Makes You Overpay for Fairness
    Jun 22 2026
    Why do we walk away from a deal that benefits us just because it feels unfair? In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the ultimatum game, a classic behavioral economics experiment that reveals how the brain's fairness circuits override pure self-interest. They discuss a 2023 meta-analysis of 79 studies showing that people reject offers of 20% or less roughly half the time, even when rejecting means they get nothing. The hosts connect this to real-world pricing strategies, from surge pricing to wage negotiations, and explain why companies like Uber and Amazon have learned to frame their algorithms to avoid triggering our fairness detectors. A subtle but revealing look at how 'fairness' is a cognitive bias with real economic consequences. #UltimatumGame #FairnessBias #BehavioralEconomics #Neuroeconomics #LossAversion #InequityAversion #DecisionMaking #CognitiveBias #GameTheory #EconomicPsychology #SurgePricing #WageNegotiation #PricingStrategy #FairnessHeuristic #Economics #FexingoBusiness #BusinessPodcast #LucasAndLuna Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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    8 min
  • The Scarcity Trap How Deadlines Hijack Your Spending

    The Scarcity Trap How Deadlines Hijack Your Spending
    Jun 22 2026
    Why does a countdown timer make you buy something you never wanted? Behavioral economist Dan Ariely's famous 'high school reunion' experiment showed that people will pay a premium to avoid a deadline — even when the deadline is meaningless. This episode explores how scarcity cues (limited time, limited stock, limited access) override rational decision-making. Lucas and Luna break down the psychology behind flash sales, FOMO, and the 'must act now' impulse, using real examples from Amazon's Lightning Deals and the classic Hershey's chocolate study. They also discuss how to recognize when scarcity is manufactured vs. genuine, and one simple mental trick to pause before panic-buying. #ScarcityEffect #DanAriely #BehavioralEconomics #FOMO #DeadlinePsychology #DecisionMaking #FlashSales #AmazonLightningDeals #HersheyChocolateStudy #ScarcityBias #ConsumerBehavior #SpendingHabits #Economics #FexingoBusiness #BusinessPodcast #DecisionBias #RetailPsychology #ScarcityMentality Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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    8 min
  • Why Your Brain Loves a One-Day Sale More Than a Permanent Discount

    Why Your Brain Loves a One-Day Sale More Than a Permanent Discount
    Jun 21 2026
    Episode 66 of Behavioral Economics with Fexingo. Lucas and Luna unpack the 'scarcity heuristic'—why your brain treats a flash sale as more urgent than a standing discount, even when the savings are identical. They dissect a real-world case: how a major online retailer boosted conversion by 340 percent by switching from 'Save 20 percent' to '24-hour sale: Save 20 percent.' They explore the evolutionary roots, the role of anticipation, and how marketers hijack your sense of time. Plus, a look at the research by University of Chicago economist Sendhil Mullainathan on scarcity and cognitive bandwidth—and what it means for your wallet. No hot takes, just the behavioral economics behind the countdown clock. #ScarcityHeuristic #FlashSale #BehavioralEconomics #SendhilMullainathan #Urgency #ConsumerBehavior #RetailStrategy #PricingPsychology #CognitiveBandwidth #CountdownClock #RareEarth #ScarcityPrinciple #DecisionMaking #Economics #FexingoBusiness #BusinessPodcast #LucasAndLuna #BehavioralFinance Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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    10 min
  • How One Number Creates a Self-Fulfilling Prediction

    How One Number Creates a Self-Fulfilling Prediction
    Jun 21 2026
    Episode 65 of Behavioral Economics with Fexingo explores the placebo effect in economics — how expectations alone can shape financial outcomes. Lucas and Luna examine a real-world experiment from the University of Chicago where students given a 'high-performing' investment portfolio actually earned higher returns than those told their portfolio was average, even though both groups held the identical assets. The hosts break down why belief becomes reality in markets, from investor sentiment to company morale, and discuss how expectations bias can compound over time. They also touch on the role of guidance in stock prices and why a CEO's confidence can lift a stock independent of fundamentals. With concrete examples from experimental economics and a critical look at the limits of the effect, this episode challenges listeners to question how much of what we see in markets is merely what we expect to see. #BehavioralEconomics #Economics #ExpectationsBias #PlaceboEffect #SelfFulfillingProphecy #ExperimentalEconomics #UniversityOfChicago #InvestorSentiment #MarketPsychology #CognitiveBias #GuidanceEffect #FinancialDecisions #MoralHazard #BeliefAndReality #FexingoBusiness #BusinessPodcast #Podcast #DecisionMaking Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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    9 min
  • Why Your Brain Overweights Small Probabilities

    Why Your Brain Overweights Small Probabilities
    Jun 20 2026
    Episode 64 of Behavioral Economics with Fexingo dives into probability weighting — why your brain treats a 1-in-100 chance as much more likely than it actually is. Lucas and Luna dissect the classic Kahneman and Tversky research, then turn to a real-world example: why people overpay for lottery tickets even when the expected value is negative. They explore how this bias drives decisions in insurance, investing, and every day risk-taking. By the end, you will understand why a 1% chance feels like 5% in your head — and how marketers and policymakers exploit that gap. Fresh angle, concrete case, no fluff. #ProbabilityWeighting #KahnemanAndTversky #LotteryFallacy #RiskPerception #BehavioralEconomics #DecisionMaking #CognitiveBias #ProspectTheory #ExpectedValue #Insurance #Investing #Marketing #FexingoBusiness #BusinessPodcast #Economics #Psychology #Bias #Odds Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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    9 min