The growing social phenomenon of ritually blessed animal companions suggests that the concept of the blessing should receive more attention in the field of consumer behavior. By documenting the importance of perceived sacred power and by capturing the words, gestures, and artifacts of the...

Long lists of ranked items, such as Bloomberg Businessweek’s rankings of MBA programs, are ubiquitous in Western culture, and they are often used in consumer decision making. Six studies show that consumers mentally subdivide ranked lists into a smaller set of categories and exaggerate...