Humans have an innate preference for tradition over the new, the older the better.
Researchers found found that telling people something has stood the test of time makes them more likely to judge it favorably, whether they are assessing art or acupuncture.
As reported in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, this holds true even in situations where longevity has no objective relationship to quality.
For example, the longer subjects believed acupuncture has been practiced, the more likely they were to evaluate it positively.
Similarly, those informed the chocolate they sampled was first sold in 1937 found it better-tasting than those who were told it debuted in 2003.
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