Pricier wines garner higher ratings—but only if you’re “materialistic”

Frances Woolley, a Carleton economics professor, posted an interesting story on the the Globe and Mail’s Economy Lab blog earlier today about a German experiment measuring how a wine’s stated price affects a person’s ranking of that wine’s quality. Not surprisingly, subjects who were told a given bottle of wine cost €20 rated it higher than subjects who were told it cost only €3 (yes, you can get a bottle of wine for €3 in Germany). The interesting twist is that this only applies for people who rate high on a scale of how materialistic they are. Apparently, these people tend to agree with statements like, “I admire people who own expensive homes, cars, and clothes” and “I’d be happier if I could afford to buy more things.” Now, who could fall for that? Read the whole story [Globe and Mail] »