Behavioral Economics: Opt out versus Opt in

Behavioral Economics: Opt out versus Opt in:

'via Blog this'

Ariely conducted a study of the subscription process of The Economist. He gave his students two different forms (see illustrations below), asking them to choose between 2 or 3 options:

(a) online only for $59
(b) print only for $125
(c) print and online for $125

It seems idiotic to include option (b), but when it was on the form more people (84%) chose option (c). And when "print only for $125" wasn't an option, more people (68%) chose option (a). In the latter case, only 32% chose "print and online for $125". It’s clear that even though no one chose option (b) on the first form, it did influence people's decisions to choose the print and online offer.