Walk Into Any Movie

There is a hidden design in that popcorn menu. The decoy effect is one of the oldest tricks in retail psychology, and it is hiding in plain sight at the concession stand.

By the end of this lesson, you will spot decoys in menus, phone plans, and software pricing — and know how to sidestep them.

Small $3, medium $6.50, large $7. Nobody picks small. The medium exists to make the large look like a steal.

The medium is not there to be sold — it is there to be compared against. Once your brain sees the large is fifty cents more, the decision feels obvious. That is the point.