Acerca dos custos de oportunidade

"“Opportunity cost” is a term from economics that refers to what we give up when we make a decision.
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Imagine that you have been saving some extra money on the side to make some purchases, and on your most recent visit to the video store you come across a special sale on a new video. This video is one with your favorite actor or actress, and your favorite type of movie (such as a comedy, drama, thriller, etc.). This particular video that you are considering is one you have been thinking about buying for a long time. It is available for a special sale price of $14.99.
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What would you do in this situation? Please circle one of the options below.
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(A) Buy this entertaining video.
(B) Not buy this entertaining video.
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Given this choice, 75% bought the video and only 25% passed.
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Later the researchers asked a different group of people the same question, but with a minor modification (printed here in bold):
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(A) Buy this entertaining video.
(B) Not buy this entertaining video. Keep the $14.99 for other purchases.
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Surely the part in bold should not have to be stated. It’s obvious and even a little insulting. Do we really need to remind people that they can use their money to buy things other than videos?
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Nonetheless, when shown that simple, stupid reminder, 45% of the people decided not to buy the video. The reminder almost doubled the chance that people would pass on the purchase!
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Focusing is great for analyzing alternatives but terrible for spotting them. Think about the visual analogy—when we focus we sacrifice peripheral vision. And there’s no natural corrective for this; life won’t interrupt our focus to draw our attention to all of our options.
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Our lack of attention to opportunity costs is so common, in fact, that it can be shocking when someone acknowledges them."

Trechos retirados de "Decisive" de Chip Heath e Dan Heath.