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202504.25 An fMRI study of price-ending effects (Publication) Posted in RESEARCH
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The psychological effect of perceiving prices just below a round number—such as ¥198—as perceived as irrationally cheap is known as the price-ending effect. This phenomenon arises from two contributing factors: the left-digit effect, wherein the leftmost digit changes due to a small price drop (e.g., from ¥200 to ¥198), and the image effect, which involves the evocation of a low-price image associated with specific ending digits (such as “8” in Japan).
In this study, we investigated the neural representations of these two components of the price-ending effect using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The results revealed that the left-digit effect were associated with decreased activity in brain regions related to visuospatial processing. Notably, reduced activation in the right dorsal posterior precuneus showed a negative correlation with the irrational perception of cheapness caused by left-digit effect and exhibited negative functional connectivity with the dorsal striatal regions.
These findings suggest that changes in the leftmost digit with a price decrease modulate visuospatial processing. In particular, the right dorsal posterior precuneus appears to be associated with the irrationality induced by left-digit effect and could also play a role in the unconscious promotion of purchase intentions.
The results of this study have been published in the journal Biological Psychology. (Ogata)
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsycho.2025.109030