So I kept seeing this “relative size psychology” thing popping up everywhere – people talking about how we totally judge stuff size by comparing it to other stuff nearby. Sounded simple enough, but honestly? It felt kinda vague. Like, how much does this really mess with my head day-to-day? Figured the best way to get it was to poke at it myself. Here’s what went down.
Starting Simple: The Cookie Test
Right. Breakfast time. Grabbed two identical cookies from the packet and plopped them on a big dinner plate. They looked kinda puny, right? Like little sad dots lost in this giant white sea of porcelain. Felt like I needed way more cookies to make it look right.
Then, swapped the plate. Used one of those tiny saucers you put under teacups. Took just one cookie this time and stuck it smack in the middle of that tiny plate. Boom. Same cookie, totally different vibe. Now it looked huge! Almost comically big for that tiny plate. Felt like I was having a giant’s snack. Weird how just changing the plate made my brain shout “Whoa, big cookie!” versus “Meh, tiny cookie.”
Leveling Up: The Soda Bottle Trick
Okay, got the plate thing. Felt confident. Decided to step it up. Went to the supermarket, mission: see relative size mess with people picking drinks.
- Grabbed a regular 500ml soda bottle (the standard size).
- Placed it next to those massive 2-liter family-sized bottles on the shelf.
Stood back and pretended to look busy, watching people. Saw a couple folks pick up my 500ml bottle. Yup, saw it happen! When it was next to the giants, that 500ml suddenly looked super small, almost like a mini-can or something. Heard one guy mutter to his friend, “This one’s way smaller than usual, innit?” when it really wasn’t!
Then, sneaky move: I moved that same 500ml bottle over to where they kept the tiny 250ml mini-cans. Magic trick reversed. Instantly, that 500ml bottle looked much bigger standing next to the tiddlers. One lady picked it up, nodded, said “This should be enough,” like she was getting a good deal. It was wild watching how the neighbors changed the whole story.
Getting Way Too Into It: The Snack Box Debacle
Feeling cocky now. Decided to get super practical – applying it to my snacks. Had this box I keep crackers in. Wanted it to feel fuller, faster.
- Got a smaller box – about half the size of my old one.
- Poured the same amount of crackers into this new, smaller box.
Filled it right up to the top, even had to press some down a bit. Closed the lid. Pick it up… whoa. It felt heavier, more substantial somehow. Opening it? Looked packed! Instantly felt like I had way more crackers than before, even though I knew I didn’t. Grabbed a handful, and mentally thought, “Okay, that’s plenty,” way sooner than I usually would with the big box. Almost felt guilty taking more! But… same crackers!
When It Backfired: The Expensive Chips Lesson
Alright, last one. Feeling smart. Went shopping again. Saw these fancy brand chips. They came in a bag that looked decent on its own – maybe 150 grams or something. But THEN I looked at the shelf below…
Stacked right underneath were the budget store brand chips. In bags that were MASSIVE. Like, twice as big. Bam. Suddenly my fancy chips looked like someone had eaten most of them already! The price tag felt stupid for the tiny little bag it now seemed to be. My brain just went “Nah, that’s a rip-off compared to those,” even though the huge budget bags probably weren’t that much heavier gram-for-gram? Didn’t buy the fancy ones. Felt ripped off just looking at them. Relative size made me feel poor.
Wrapping Up The Chaos
So yeah. Did a bunch of fiddling around. Saw it work with plates, soda, my own snack box, even got played by it in the chip aisle. It’s sneaky! Stuff doesn’t have its own “true” size feeling in my head – it depends what’s hanging out next to it. Big neighbors? Makes things look small. Tiny neighbors? Makes things look huge. Pack a small space? Feels more packed.
Makes you realize how often shops and ads probably use this to trick your brain. You see that “jumbo” size? Might look less jumbo if they hid the truly gigantic one. Feels kinda cool to spot it now, but also a bit worrying how easy it is to get fooled. My main takeaway? Always look for the stuff around it. Might change the whole story. Anyway, that’s what I got playing around with relative size today. Weirdly fun, sometimes annoying!