Recent research in the field of behavioural economics has demonstrated that consumers experience significant difficulties when they attempt to judge price and quality in an objective way. For example, one experimental study involved participants being subjected to electric shocks. During the course of the treatment, one part of the sample were administered a pill that costs US$2.50 per dose while another subset received a pill that cost 10 cents. In the former case, all participants experienced pain relief compared with only half of the 10 cent group. In reality, both groups had simply received a vitamin C capsule, but clearly the higher price had influenced participants' ________ of the product. In short, this demonstrates that a higher price can lead to a perception of higher quality, although that may not actually be the case. Multiple Choice expectations aspirations perceptions preferences