PSYCHED!

I just bought some fruit today (bananas and pears=healthy guy! ;-) )in town from an informal trader. What was interesting was the question 'Why did I choose to buy from that specific trader and not the rest?'. As you should know there are multiple traders in the C.B.D (or rather the Original C.B.D);none of them use any formal marketing besides the cardboard boxes with the 'pricing' and the odd '3Rand Bananas!' shout slogan. So how did I choose who to buy from and why? These are my observations and my hypothesis! PUT YOUR THINKING CAP ON! While I was paying for the fruit I realised that I had 5 other people around me buying from the same trader- 2of them I had found there and the other 3 appeared around the same time I approached the 'stall'! Keep in mind ; 1. there are atleast 12other traders to buy from 2. within the same vacinity 3. the other traders may even be cheaper 4. the traders stock from the same market so quality of products is the same and 5. the other traders didnt have any customers buying, which means ;no queue, faster service and convenience all round! And yet, here were 5 people buying fruit from this specific trader! After waiting for the other customers to buy It hit me "I HAD BEEN PSYCHED"! The laws of human psychology had taken place,and I was part of the experiment! (blushes). It was obvious that the fact that 2other people were buying at the trader had attracted me and made the traders products much more desirable! Or I had made my buying decision based on the first 2customers and similarly every1 else who bought there had been manipulated by the same law! Clearly, the behavior of other customers affected my own behavior and the behavior of others. Yes,i had planned to buy fruit anyway but the fact that I saw people buying at a specific trader made me decide to spend my R11 there. Now think about this- what if that had been a clothing market or cell phone shop? Or what if I was deciding which school to attend or to apply for at a University Application fare? HMMM . . . How much of our own behavior is affected by the behavior of others? How many habits, trends, and decisions do we make just based on seeing others doing something? 'AND WE CALL OURSELVES 'INDIVIDUALS'! Truth is, this happens all the time,sometimes you are aware of it and other times you're not. T.V ADS, What do you think those are for? What if those 2customers were paid to buy there and to pretend that they were customers? Ever Watched the movie 'Keeping up with the Jones's'? (if you havent,maybe you should). . .Now im sure you're reading this thinking 'That would never happen to me!', I have one question to ask you, 'what made you decide to read this?' . . . . .PSYCHED!