Inference
Behavioral research to help you keep your New Year's Resolutions by Chloe Reichel
Getting a handle on your spending can be a bitter pill to swallow. But a bitter beverage might be just the thing to keep your finances on track, according to this study. Researchers looked at the effects of mood and flavor on participants' tendency to spend or save. They hypothesized that happy participants would be more likely to spend and less likely to save and that this could change depending on shifts in mood. They also thought that moods might shift based on particularly sharp tastes. The researchers put all this to the test by measuring participants' moods before and after randomly assigning them to drink either bitter-melon-flavored, salty, or plain water. After consuming the water, the participants completed an exercise in which they indicated the likelihood that they would save an extra allowance received each month. They found that baseline happy participants who consumed the bitter drink were more likely to save compared with those who drank pure or salty water and also expressed more worry about the future than these other groups. On the other hand, participants who were unhappy at the outset were less likely to spend money after consuming the bitter drink. "As we noted earlier, unhappy individuals are generally motivated to engage in behavior that can decrease or eliminate their negative feelings they are experiencing," the authors explain. "If tasting a bitter drink activates thoughts about the adversity of their present life situation, it could increase their desire to save money."
Select the detail
that supports the researchers'
20
inference that a bitter drink can help people save money.
After consuming the water, the participants completed an exercise in which they indicated the likelihood that they would save an extra allowance received each month. They found that baseline happy participants who consumed the bitter drink were more likely to save compared with those who drank pure or salty water and O also expressed more worry about the future than these other groups.
Short Answer: What do you think about this claim?
Created by The Small Classroom Copyright © 2020
I think the claim that a bitter drink can help people save money is interesting. It suggests that the taste of the drink can affect people's mood and decision-making when it comes to saving or spending. It would be important to see if this finding holds up in additional studies and to understand the underlying mechanisms behind this effect.
Select the detail that supports the researchers’ inference that a bitter drink can help people save money.
*
5 points
A After consuming the water, the participants completed an exercise in which they indicated the likelihood that they would save an extra allowance received each month.
B They found that baseline happy participants who consumed the bitter drink were more likely to save compared with those who drank pure or salty water and
C also expressed more worry about the future than these other groups.