Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion · chapter 7 · id influence-c7-01-scarcity-enhances-the-perceive

“Scarcity enhances the perceived value of commodities -- when something becomes less available, it becomes more desirable, as predicted by commodity theory (Brock, 1968).”

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Receipts

Brock (1968), Implications of Commodity Theory, Academic PressFLAGGED: DOI not in registry

Any commodity will be valued to the extent that it is unavailable, provided it is possessable, useful, and transferable.

Lynn (1991), Scarcity Effects on Value: Quantitative Review, Psychology & Marketing 8(1)DOI registry: valid

Quantitative review of commodity theory literature confirmed a reliable scarcity-desirability effect across multiple studies, though effect sizes were moderate and varied by operationalization.

Shi, Li, Gershoff & Pham (2022), Scarcity Tactics in Marketing: Meta-Analysis, Journal of Marketing ResearchDOI registry: valid

Meta-analysis of 416 effect sizes found scarcity modestly increases purchase intentions. The effect depends primarily on product type, scarcity type (demand vs. supply), and whether scarcity is perceived as accidental or market-driven.

This claim is a stable, citable object. If you can falsify a verdict, tell us — corrections are loud here.