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Journalism of Courage
Does a glimpse of chocolate or hybrid cars ignite in you a strong desire to buy? Then,blame your genes,scientists say.
A team of American researchers who studied consumer preferences among twins found that certain consumer behaviours or traits have a genetic basis.
Their research,published in the Journal of Consumer Research,also found that likings for specific products such as chocolates,hybrid cars,science fiction movies and jazz seemed to be genetically related.
8220;We examine a wide range of consumer judgement and decision-making phenomenon and discover that many 8211; though not all of them 8211; are in fact heritable or influenced by genetic factors,8221; said Itamar Simonson of Standford University who led the study along with Aner Sela of University of Florida. For their study,the researchers examined consumer preferences of a group of twins to determine whether or not certain behaviours or traits have a genetic basis.
Surprisingly,they found a greater similarity in buying behaviour between identical twins compared to fraternal ones.
8220;It indicates that the behaviour or trait is likely to be heritable,8221; the authors explained.
They also discovered that people seem to inherit some tendencies such as to choose a compromise option and avoid extremes; select sure gains over gambles; prefer an easy but non-rewarding task over an enjoyable challenging one and look for the best option available etc.
Some tendencies,however,did not seem to be inheritable 8212; for example,a preference for a smaller versus larger product variety or likings for ketchup and tattoos,they said.
8220;The current research suggests that heritable and other hard-wired inherent preference components play a key role in behaviour and deserve much more attention in marketing and decision-making research,8221; the authors wrote.
They believe that their work may reveal some important information on the genetics of 8220;prudence8221;.
8220;Some people may be born with a tendency to 8216;be in the mainstream8217; whereas others tend to 8216;live on the edge8217;,8221; the authors added.
