PSYCH 311 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Operational Definition, Xm Satellite Radio
Document Summary
The purpose of this study was to determine the accuracy of people"s predictions about the amount of money they might spend on infrequent, expensive items compared to their actual spending on these items. For example, it"s not often that people purchase a new tv. Ordinary expenses, however, are those that occur more often or with regularity, such as paying rent or a phone bill. In this study, researchers asked participants to read a description of an exceptional expense, such as, Sometimes we purchase items outside the normal course of everyday events. These are often one-time expenses that are not expected to recur, or that occur only infrequently. For example, the cost of going to a nice restaurant to celebrate a special occasion or replacing a broken tv would be considered this type of item. Next participants provided their prediction of the amount of money they might spend on an exceptional expense within the next weeks" time by answering the question,
