These results have been replicated in many similar studies. As Jonah Lehrer tells us: "According to Shiv, a kind of placebo effect is at work. Since we expect cheaper goods to be less effective, they generally are less effective, even if they are identical to more expensive products. This is why brand-name aspirin works better than generic aspirin and why Coke tastes better than cheaper colas, even if most consumers can't tell the difference in blind taste tests." 2 Discuss the implications of this research in marketing and pricing.

Rate of return, standard deviation, coefficient of variation personal finance problem mike is searching for a stock to include in his current stock portfolio. he is interested in hi-tech inc.; he has been impressed with the company's computer products and believes hi-tech is an innovative market player. however, mike realizes that any time you consider a technology stock, risk is a major concern. the rule he follows is to include only securities with a coefficient of variation of returns below 1.07. mike has obtained the following price information for the period 2015 through 2018:hi-tech stock, being growth-oriented, did not pay any dividends during these 4 years. a. calculate the rate of return for each year, 2015 through 2018, for hi-tech stock. b. assume that each year's return is equally probable and calculate the average return over this time period. c. calculate the standard deviation of returns over the past 4 years. (hint: treat this data as a sample.) d. based on b and c determine the coefficient of variation of returns for the security. e. given the calculation in d what should be mike's decision regarding the inclusion of hi-tech stock in his portfolio?