Reported May 2011

ABOUT SOCIOLOGY: Sociology is a social science that studies the behavior of people, groups, and societies in terms of their social interactions. This includes strangers passing on the street and international processes. It includes other disciplines such as history, psychology and economics, as well as following social groups as they move through time.

THE ADVANATAGE IS IN THE NUMBERS: People respond positively to very big numbers, so an Internet provider might run a promotion offering 1025 hours of free Internet access. The small print reveals the offer is only good for 45 days. There are 1080 hours in 45 days, so customers would have to use their Internet access nearly 24/7 in order to take full advantage of the offer. Similarly, a food label that says a product is "90% fat free" will be more appealing than one that says it has "10% fat." People also lend more credence to exact numbers, preferring "50%" to the less specific "half." But it's easy to confuse precision with accuracy, such as with food packaging. Compare a soft drink that has 39 grams of sugar and 140 calories per serving to a fruit drink with 31 grams of sugar and 120 calories. But the serving size of the soft drink is 12 ounces, while the fruit drink is only 8 ounces. So ounce for ounce, the soft drink has fewer calories and less sugar than the fruit drink.

If you would like more information, please contact:

Kyle Siler
Sociologist
Department of Sociology
Cornell University
ksiler@gmail.com

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