I thought this was a joke. Apparently it's not. And I can attest that, as an "A," I take a good several months to buy anything online - just have to check every review. More from Word Spy citing Journal of Consumer Research: T
his article links the speed with which adults acquire items to the first letter of their childhood surname. We find that the later in the alphabet the first letter of one's childhood surname is, the faster the person acquires items as an adult. We dub this the last name effect, and we propose that it stems from childhood ordering structures that put children with different names in different positions in lines.Let me say, as an A, it is true that more often than not, I was first in line to go into the Kindergarten class (we had to stand on these lines (in line, but literally ON these white lines) outside the school)), I got called on first in law school. I can't recall a lot of instances where having the A helped me out. Even more from Slate:
Their working hypothesis is that "[R]epeated delays imposed on children whose last names are late in the alphabet create in those individuals a chronic expediency motive that is automatically activated" by limited-time offers to buy stuff. In effect, Carlson and Conard believe the R-to-Z set will prove easier prey for "act now!" marketing pitches than the A-to-I set.
