Feeling Unforgiving? Try Some Berry Punch

This just in from the Harvard Business Review’s (HBR) Daily Stat: People “who were given 2 teaspoons of a bitter herbal supplement made harsher judgments of such actions as shoplifting and library-book theft, rating these behaviors an average of 78 on a 0-100 scale of "morally wrong," whereas people who had sipped only water rated the scenarios at just 62, says a team led by Kendall J. Eskine of the City University of New York. People who had sipped berry punch were even less harsh in their judgments.”

The report goes on to suggest, “the research underscores that what we think of as purely "moral" reasoning can be strongly influenced by intuition and physical feelings.” I have no quarrel with the study’s findings. What gets me is the low percentages of “harsh judgments” for doing something that is clearly wrong.

Call me naïve, but how can it be that 38% of people in a good mood and 22% of those having a bad day call shoplifting something less than morally wrong? One can only hope that the scenario described for the participants was one where the shoplifter was homeless and picking up a few things to avoid starvation. For the record, according to Business Insurance Quotes, two of the top three most shoplifted items in America are foods. In other words are we talking about absolutes or relativism?

Stealing a library book by the way, is a form of shoplifting but its worse than most shoplifting in at least one way. Its one thing to steal meat, the USA’s number one shoplifted item. There are usually plenty of ground beef packages on the shelf. When you steal a library book you are reducing, if not eliminating, the opportunity for others to learn something new or be entertained.

I realize there is also a potential upside to the far-reaching discovery that being in a good  mood has a tendency to make people more forgiving.  With any luck, entire industries that seem to specialize in hiring surly people (airlines come to mind) might now provide sweet drinks to their employees. Airlines can start with gate agents.

I wonder if defense attorneys will now use this knowledge to get better deals for their clients. “Your honor, if it pleases the court, may I offer members of the jury a spot of tea spiced with Tupelo honey while they deliberate?” Come to think of it, what were the jurors sampling during deliberations for the Casey Anthony and George Zimmerman trials? 

I am frankly troubled by research of this nature. There is a downside. In fact, the potential for mischief is infinite. In no time, news like this will filter down to children of all ages. How long will it take little Kendrick to figure out that it’s a good idea to offer mom a cookie before confessing that he broke the family heirloom vase? When newly licensed driver, Francine, wants the keys to the car, you know she is going to give daddy a sweet, delicious, Cella's Chocolate-Covered Cherry to help her seal the deal. It’s worrisome I tell you.   

It turns out that HBR’s Daily Stat is chock full of interesting studies. A recent experiment performed by Michael J.A. Wohl of Carleton University in Canada suggests that people were more than twice as likely to gamble $10 on slot machines if they first read an article warning of an unstable economic climate, poor job prospects, and higher costs. Periods of hardship can lead people to make risky and detrimental financial decisions, the researchers say.

In effect, these people are treating themselves, or at least their own self-interest, harshly. Would the results have been the same if they sipped berry punch while they read the bad news?

Progress, a Step Backward?

            My friend Paul gave me his copy of Fortune, a leading business magazine. The first thing I read was a column by Stanley Bing, a noted writer. Mr. Bing questioned whether what some call progress is really a step backwards. His leading example was restroom sinks with automatic water dispensers. Sometimes they don’t work. And there’s no alternative.

            Permit me to join Mr. Bing in pointing out a few more examples of improvements that are not progress. Shall we start with computerized cash registers? The old fashioned cash register has been replaced with computerized applications that have turned checking out from a 30 second exercise to something akin to donating blood. It takes about the same amount of time. In fact, the American Red Cross should set up in busy checkout lanes. That would be the end of blood shortages. This is true, by the way, even if you pay cash. I recently visited an appliance store to buy a replacement water filter. I explained I was in a hurry but that didn’t matter.

I had cash in hand but the guy behind the counter had to sign himself in first. Then he asked me for my phone number. He punched a few keys, scanned my purchase and then he waited for the computer to react. The receipt was next, an 8 and ½ by 11 inch piece of paper by the way. I had to sign that before he took my money. Finally the register door opened and he gave me my change. If you happen to be the third or fourth customer in line you can give blood and apply for a mortgage. There’s plenty of time.

Does anybody remember when it was common to argue over whose turn it was to get up and change the channel? That was before the TV remote was introduced. And the remote was a definite improvement over the TV knob, which had a habit of breaking off eventually, mostly because kids took turns seeing who could get from channel 2 to 13 the fastest.

Early remotes were pretty simple. They turned your set on and off. You could change the channel and adjust the volume. Some even had the ever useful mute button.  Check out your TV remote now. Mine has 53 buttons to choose from. And here’s the best part: If you hit the wrong button, now you can argue with your significant other over whose turn it is to call your cable provider.

Let’s face it. There is no way you are going to press the right buttons in the right sequence to turn that static into a picture. After you’ve spent three days waiting for the cable guy, getting up to change the channel sounds suspiciously like progress.      

How about the family car? Some of us can remember a time when anyone who was reasonably handy could change the oil, do a break job or even give the car a tune-up. With the highly advanced, technology driven cars of today, should you break down on the side of the road you don’t open the hood and have a look. No, the first thing you do is reach for your cell phone for roadside assistance. Even fixing a flat tire can be a nightmare. Quick! Tell me where your tire iron and jack are stored. You have no idea right? Maybe that’s why AAA adds 6.5 million new members a year. 

Obviously, technology has played an important role in moving our society along. The sad truth is that many of the old ways of doing things must be updated to accommodate environmental and demographic changes. Still, I wish marketers would stop telling us that all these improvements will make our lives easier. They don’t. Well, it’s time to light my barbecue grill. Now where did I put the instructions?