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The pleasure principle

Nature Climate Change volume 3, pages 776–777 (2013)Cite this article

Subjects

Lessons from the treatment of addiction may help to change peoples' awareness of nature.

In an unusual experiment participants lifted two vodka bottles from a shelf, one heavier than the other, but both filled with exactly the same amount of vodka. The majority preferred the heavier bottle — perceiving it as stronger, more expensive, of better quality, more elegant and more up-market. Most consumers prefer heavier containers. This is just one insight among many yielded by brand research on how we react to different product features. Cold objects rested on the hand or arm feel heavier than thermally neutral ones, and we also perceive dark objects as heavier.

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  1. Elisabeth Jeffries is a self-employed journalist based in London, UK,

    Elisabeth Jeffries

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  1. Elisabeth Jeffries
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Correspondence to Elisabeth Jeffries.

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Jeffries, E. The pleasure principle. Nature Clim Change 3, 776–777 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate1994

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