Frequency modulates scarcity effects in perceptual processing: evidence from a shape-label matching paradigm

Abstract

Previous studies have found how scarcity affects decision-making, memory, cognitive functioning, and perceptual processing by exogenously inducing scarcity by resource manipulation. However, scarcity has not been studied without external induction, and limited research explains how scarcity affects perceptual processing in cognitive behvaioural experiments. Therefore, this thesis aims to understand this better using the matching paradigm by Sui et al.(2012)

in a within-subject design, participants were asked to remember three words (one from each category: scarcity, neutral, and abundance)

these words were paired with an arbitrary geometric shape at random. The task was to judge whether the shape label pair shown in each trial was a match or non-match

there were a total of 540 trials. Results found an abundance deprioritization instead of a scarcity prioritization. To understand why this happened, a second experiment was conducted, where the frequency of trials was manipulated

this was a between-subject design where condition A (abundance frequent) had 162 trials for the abundance conditions and 54 trials for the other conditions (scarcity and neutral), and condition B (scarcity frequent) had 162 trials for the scarcity conditions and 54 trials for the other conditions (abundance and neutral). The results found that frequency modulates the reaction time (RT) and accuracy

when abundance was more frequent, the abundance match condition had a faster RT and accuracy, and when scarcity was more frequent, the scarcity match condition had a faster RT and accuracy. This provides evidence that resource monitoring systems are adaptive to the context, and we may not have an inherent scarcity preference, instead since we are more exposed to scarcity in our daily lives we have a tendency to prefer scarce goods.