I just experienced the comparison test by myself. Originally I've already made my mindset, ready to pay around $50 for a book. Then I accidentally found a coupon code which gave me 50% off for that book. You can imagine how happy I was when the price dropped by half. But if you really think about it, I would still buy that book and keep living as usual if I didn't find the coupon. Because of the sudden change in price, I have a new reference to compare with. This fact itself changed my mood drastically. If I get the better deal, I will be happy because my mind thinks I obtain a better advantage under this circumstance. This is the same situation from the monkey experiment I posted today. First monkey was happy and willing to do the task when it received cucumber, but when there's a better choice like grapes for it, it began refusing doing its work until it obtained the better option.
I guess this behavior is buried deep in our genes. You always fight for the best option, so that you have the better chance to survive. Even though to the life style in modern society, it's not necessary true, people still get affected by this behavior. When you have the best option currently available in the world, you will be happy. On the contrary, when there's a better option and you don't get it, you then will become unhappy due to the comparison.
By using this theory, we can actually make someone happier by hiding the real value of one thing. The value here doesn't necessary mean money. First give him a fake value which is of course higher than the real value, then reveal the real price later so that he thinks he gets a better option which we all know he does not.
So we can conclude honesty is not the best policy for sure
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