SAGE Reference - Encyclopedia of Social Psychology

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Scarcity Principle

In: Encyclopedia of Social Psychology
Edited by: Roy F. Baumeister & Kathleen D. Vohs
Subject:Social Psychology (general)
Keywords:cookies; scarcity principle

Definition

According to the scarcity principle, objects become more attractive when there are not very many of them. This scarcity may be either real or imagined. People assume that because others appear to want something, and it is in short supply, it must be valuable. In a classic demonstration of the scarcity principle, students were divided into two groups. One group was asked to choose a cookie from a jar with two cookies. The other group was asked to choose a cookie from a jar that contained ten cookies. Consistent with the scarcity principle, students who chose from the jar with two cookies (scarce condition) rated the cookies as more desirable than students who chose from the jar with ten cookies (plentiful condition).

Importance of Topic

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  Baumeister, R. F., & Vohs, K. D. (2007). Scarcity principle. In Encyclopedia of social psychology (Vol. 1, pp. 780-780). SAGE Publications, Inc., https://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781412956253.n466
  
  Baumeister, Roy F., and Kathleen D. Vohs. "Scarcity Principle." In Encyclopedia of Social Psychology, edited by Baumeister, Roy F., and Kathleen D. Vohs, 780-780. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc., 2007. https://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781412956253.n466.
  
  Baumeister, R. F. and Vohs, K. D. 2007. Scarcity Principle. In: Roy F. Baumeister and Kathleen D. Vohs Editors, 2007. Encyclopedia of Social Psychology, Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc. pp. 780 Available at: <https://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781412956253.n466> [Accessed 18 Aug 2022].
  
  Baumeister, Roy F. and Kathleen D. Vohs. "Scarcity Principle." Encyclopedia of Social Psychology. Edited by Vol. 1. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications, Inc., 2007, pp. 780-780. SAGE Knowledge. 18 Aug 2022, doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781412956253.n466.
  
  Baumeister, Roy F., and Kathleen D. Vohs (2007). Scarcity principle In:Scarcity principle Encyclopedia of social psychology Vol. 1. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc.; 2007:780-780. doi:10.4135/9781412956253.n466
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