Temptation in Purchasing Decision: A Quasi Experiment to Validate the Set Betweenness Axiom

Abstract

We examined the Set Betweenness axiom, the most crucial assumption in the literature studying Temptation and Self-control starting with the seminal work by Gul and Pesendorfer [1]. This axiom states that presence of a tempting alternative creates a self-control problem for the decision maker who prefers a menu that does not include the tempting alternative over a menu that does. We identified reduced price as a tempting alternative and conducted a quasi-experiment on 288 respondents. The respondents expressed their preference between menus and alternatives that contain a tempting good at a reduced price and/or that good at a non-reduced price. We chose ice cream and shirt as two different choices for goods. Our results demonstrate that that choice that is consistent with Set Betweenness Axiom is the most observed choice. Moreover, people with more familial wealth may have higher preference for commitment.

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