In an experiment, people who felt more hopeless about the economy and their employment opportunities showed a preference for brighter lighting, suggesting that those with poor job prospects may have an unfortunate predilection for spending more on electricity, says a team led by Ping Dong of the University of Toronto. They calculated that it would cost participants an average of 20.6pc more for electricity in order to feel one point less hopeful (on a nine point scale) toward the economy.

(Source: Social Psychological and Personality Science)

Published in Dawn, Economic & Business, September 22nd, 2014