Conservatives buy lower quality products (when not status symbols)?
https://hbr.org/2023/05/conservatives-are-more-open-to-seemingly-inferior-products-than-liberals-are
I found this article interesting. Starts out in a farmer's market. They determined that more conservative people are more likely to purchase more damaged looking produce. They make claims about more conservative people believing in a balance in the universe, and that for every bad one receives they can expect an equal good. I don't know if they're saying they choose bad like in a story I remember about Hinduism and trying to reincarnate higher next time by punishing oneself in the present tense, or they really think a screwed up looking apple has enough redeeming qualities already.
My take away was that conservatives must then think the world is balanced and therefore don't need to consciously stay aware of injustices as they will iron themselves out without intervention. What does everyone else think?
I found this article interesting. Starts out in a farmer's market. They determined that more conservative people are more likely to purchase more damaged looking produce. They make claims about more conservative people believing in a balance in the universe, and that for every bad one receives they can expect an equal good. I don't know if they're saying they choose bad like in a story I remember about Hinduism and trying to reincarnate higher next time by punishing oneself in the present tense, or they really think a screwed up looking apple has enough redeeming qualities already.
My take away was that conservatives must then think the world is balanced and therefore don't need to consciously stay aware of injustices as they will iron themselves out without intervention. What does everyone else think?
Comments (9)
That said, I'm pretty sure political orientation, religious background, education, wealth, height and weight, sex, market experience, and so forth all interact with each other, under various circumstances. That seems like a truism. I'm not sure I could devise an experiment that would yield consistent, valid results proving that.
Question: did the alleged conservative vegetable shoppers agree that they had picked out inferior produce? If so, did they have an explanation for their behavior? (Maybe what looked OK to the shopper looked inferior to the experimenters?)
Was some unaccounted variable at work? Perhaps wealthy people (rather than conservative) people choose food in a market differently than less-wealthy people?
So, I'm very liberal and I've very fussy about stuff I buy in person. Slightly dented can? No. Slightly discolored spot on banana peel? No. Slightly crushed box of cereal? No. Speck of something on the milk bottle? No. This might be some sort of superstitious thinking, On some things, like shoes, I expect better service from higher cost items more than very cheap ones. On the other hand, if I have to replace an appliance (washing machine) I'm likely to look on line, check out Consumer Reports, and buy it sight-unseen if it's rated highly. Does it make sense to dither over a can of beans but buying a washing machine without seeing it for real? No. (I've looked at a lot of appliances in stores. Touching it, looking at it, etc. doesn't tell you the really essential information: how well does it work, and how long will it last.
Some shopping behaviors (well, behaviors in general) are just irrational -- a little bit crazy.
They kept price equal though.
I'm not saying the produce that lacks good symmetry is bad or that those that does isn't breeded for appearance primarily. But assuming people aren't growing it themselves this is the choice.
Maybe it was an incomplete study. But I imagine it is easier to ask a person their political stances than asking how much money they have.