What is split-brain decision making?

See The Year of the $1,000 Concert Ticket: Die-hards make tough choices to spend an exorbitant amount of money for A-list music acts like Taylor Swift, Beyoncé by Rachel Wolfe of The WSJ. Excerpts:

"The average resale price for concert tickets on SeatGeek has more than doubled since 2019, from $125 to $252 so far in 2023. For sold-out acts such as Taylor Swift, Beyoncé and Bruce Springsteen, that number jumps to $1,311, $480 and $469, respectively, the company says.

Industry insiders point to sky-high demand: U.S. concert attendance is up 24% since 2019, according to Live Nation Entertainment, which owns Ticketmaster. Added fees and dynamic pricing drive up costs further for concertgoers. The average fan paid $104 for tickets to the top 200 tours in North America in 2022, according to trade publication Pollstar, up from $87 in 2019.  

Spending on these tickets despite financial stress is an example of split-brain decision making [excerpts from that article are below], when consumers exhausted from budgeting occasionally splurge on big-ticket items. 

Some fans are taking on second jobs to snag tickets at sky-high prices."

"Jason Mercer, a live music analyst at risk assessment firm Moody’s Investors Service, says inflation is continuing to limit consumer’s purchasing power. People are so desperate for splashy live music experiences, he says, they would rather skip day-of extras such as concessions and merchandise than miss the whole event."

Here are excerpts from an earlier article linked above:

"A slowdown in economic growth and still-high inflation are fueling these types of spending decisions that feel good, even if they’re not especially budget-friendly, says Michael Liersch, head of advice and planning at Wells Fargo. 

It’s a phenomenon similar to staying up late to reclaim hours in the day lost to work and chores, behavior known as revenge bedtime procrastination. Call it revenge inflation spending.

A year-and-a-half ago, Dr. Liersch says, people could practically buy groceries on autopilot. Many habitually bought the foods and brands they liked, and could basically predict every month what they would need and how much it would cost. 

Prices for some purchases, like gas, have dropped in recent months. But grocery prices remain high. People still have to make constant trade-offs as they go down the supermarket aisle, Dr. Liersch says.

“It’s really taxing to the mind,” he says. “Once you expire that resource, it’s basically like you really can’t control yourself anymore.”"

"Sarah Willersdorf, global head of luxury at Boston Consulting Group, says many luxury brands are now offering more fashion items at cheaper price points to meet this diversifying consumer base.   

People are also looking for luxury at more affordable price points in the secondhand market, Ms. Willersdorf says. “That’s allowing them to do more revenge spending than they have been doing before,” she says. 

Used luxury sales were up 28% year-over-year in 2022, equivalent to 1.3 times the growth rate for new luxury goods, according to Bain & Co. 

Dr. Liersch of Wells Fargo says he isn’t surprised that luxury is surging at the same time people are having to spend more on the essentials. People are thinking, “I get to put that luxury item on and remember life is going to be OK. Things are going to change in the future,” he says."

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The Pyschology & Economics Of Decision Making Under Uncertainty (With Snoopy's Version From 1966) (2013)

Physicist suggests that our seemingly 'irrational' decisions may be more accurate than previously thought by current economic and behavioral economic theory (2020)