Re-examination of Mental Accounting and Fungibility

The purpose of this study is to re-examine a theory of mental accounting noted in previous studies, based on Ozono (2013). Previous studies evaluated mental accounting in the context of buying a theater ticket. However, our study modifi es this context to attending a sports event. Our main conclusion can be summarized as follows. Like Ozono (2013), the results of our study show that many people make choices in accordance with the standard economic principle of fungibility. Moreover, the reason for these choices is the greater emphasis placed on the sunk cost of attending a sports event, rather than the cost of the ticket itself. Therefore, our research differs from theories given in previous studies, and confi rms Ozono's findings regarding choices made in mental accounting