Medium Maximization
实验发现，当人们面对不同结果的选择时，媒介（如积分或金钱）会通过制造优势、确定性或线性错觉，改变人们的选项偏好。这对理解积分如何影响消费选择、金钱如何影响行为有启示。
A medium—for example, points or money—is a token people receive as the immediate reward of their effort. It has no value in and of itself, but it can be traded for a desired outcome. Experiments demonstrate that, when people are faced with options entailing different outcomes, the presence of a medium can alter what option they choose. This effect occurs because the medium presents an illusion of advantage to an otherwise not so advantageous option, an illusion of certainty to an otherwise uncertain option, or an illusion of linearity to an otherwise concave effort-outcome return relationship. This work has implications for how points influence consumer choice and how money influences human behavior.