Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion · chapter 7 · id influence-c7-02-the-cookie-jar-study-worchel-l

“The 'cookie jar' study (Worchel, Lee & Adewole, 1975) showed that cookies from a nearly empty jar were rated as more desirable and valuable than identical cookies from a full jar.”

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Worchel, Lee & Adewole (1975), Effects of Supply and Demand, JPSP 32(5)DOI registry: valid

Cookies in a jar of 2 were rated as more desirable than identical cookies in a jar of 10. The effect was enhanced when supply decreased from abundant to scarce.

Shi et al. (2022) meta-analysis -- product type moderatorDOI registry: valid

Scarcity effects are stronger for hedonic products (cookies, luxury goods) than utilitarian products, partially explaining why the cookie jar study found strong effects.

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