Saturday 29 November 2014

Dissonance In Practise

I am so angry right now I can barely keep my finger away from the caps lock button! The culprit- shopkeeper who sold me a coke for 55Rs instead of the 50 it said on the bottle. And he tries to pass it off as something that happens everywhere... really uncle? that's not even a creative excuse, "haan aap dekhengi sab jagah aise hi hai, alag se tax lagta hai" translation- I think you are an idiot and since you lack the social skills for this confrontation I’m going to steal from you, by saying something which sounds technical but is essentially BS. 

I hate it when shopkeepers do this, MRP's are the maximum allowable price on the product according to the manufacturer and even if the amount is as small as 5Rs it is wrong and dishonest, you bucket of belched slugs (its gonna take a lot of cold water to cure that burn). I know there are shopkeepers that charge you lesser than the printed price, I feel my heart grow a size when someone does that. But if he/she doesn’t charge lesser than the MRP that’s  perfectly fine, as long as you charge exactly what is printed or legal. 

However, as I reflect on this I see how horribly unfair I’m being to the small shopkeeper. I am completely ignoring the expensive cafe's where they take a beverage that will; if you make it yourself, cost you maybe 45 bucks, also you can make a lot more of it while they charge you 250 for one cup/glass of it. Even taking into account the ambiance, service e.t.c. it’s not a specialized product, or unique in any way. So why am I biased?  Unfair, Inflated prices are unfair whether they are located in a small hut, between your colony streets or on a busy marketplace, where all the "cool kids" hang out. My anger suddenly feels misplaced.*sigh at least I kept away from the caps lock. 

 I’ve just experienced Cognitive dissonance*; because I have paid more, in a way invested more in the cafe I am overlooking the ridiculous cost and changing my attitude towards that price as fair, while 3Rs is not enough to change that attitude thus I see it as unfair. Oh, this is freaking wonderful! Not only am I socially challenged I’m also a gullible fool. 

What have I learned from this? To practice my assertiveness and to consider a little more deeply before buying cappuccino from well any coffee shop. 


*Cognitive Dissonance: refers to a situation involving conflicting attitudes, beliefs or behaviors. This produces a feeling of discomfort leading to an alteration in one of the attitudes, beliefs or behaviors to reduce the discomfort and restore balance.

Reference


http://www.simplypsychology.org/cognitive-dissonance.html