Choices on Vending Machine
     There are many conditions which are not explicitly specified in the description of the situation. I will infer various results according to the different conditions given below. According to the description, every person can only buy a rat or a pound of fertilizer because of the limited amount of money they hold.
    If there is no consumer preference over rat or fertilizer in any buyers, it makes no difference what they eventually get (the University of Southern Indiana, n.d.). They want fertilizer as well as a rat. When they press either A, B or C, they will get either a pound of fertilizer or a pet rat and they will be satisfied to the same degree. Therefore, all three vending machines will be pressed the same times statistically.
    If those buyers love pet rats more than fertilizer, then B vending machine will be pressed the most because buyers get a rat every time they press the machine. A vending machine will then be pressed the least seeing that buyers will not be able to get a rat no matter how many times the machine gets pushed.
    If those buyers prefer fertilizer more than rats, then A vending machine will be pressed the most because buyers get a pound of fertilizer every time they press the machine. B vending machine will then be pressed the least seeing that buyers will not be able to get any fertilizer no matter how many time the machine gets pushed.
    Aside from consumer preference, there is a theory called loss aversion which indicates that people intend to avoid loss (Cole N., 2012). In this vending machine scenario, if a person is afraid of losing either a rat or a pound of fertilizer, he or she will choose to press C vending machine eventually in that he or she doesn’t have to decide which one to lose before pressing any vending machine. As result, C vending machine will be pressed the most while A vending machine and B vending machine are pressed the same times statistically.
References
The University of Southern Indiana. (n.d). Consumer Preferences [PDF file]. Retrieved from https://www.usi.edu/business/cashel/331/consumer.pdf
Cole N. (2012). The Psychology of Loss. Retrieved from https://usabilla.com/blog/how-loss-aversion-and-risk-influence-decision-making/
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