Cars vs. cookies

Which is more likely to change behavior: a $4 gallon of gasoline, or a $4 chocolate chip cookie?

Sure, that cookie looks damn good. Sitting there next to the cash register in that glass jar. Oooozing chocolate and eggy goodness. Smelling like grandma's kitchen. But $4? No thanks. Definitely not baked enough to fall for that one. That's a ridiculous price for a cookie. A damn cookie. I could make that thing at home for ... I don't know ... a lot less. Definitely a lot less. Probably 24 cents, when you add it all up. Four bucks for a cookie. Right. Who needs it?

But $4 for gas is different, right? You need that gas. You need to be able to drive to the post office. You have to ride in that car alone to the ski area. You don't have an alternative. You have to buy it. Right? You need it. Right.