London: Are you always the first to grab a bargain or a concert ticket? If you think that it's down to luck or knowing the system, think again, for a new study says it could depend on your surname.
Researchers have carried out the study and found that people whose last names begin with letters lower down the alphabet are the quickest to react to limited offers of goods or tickets.
According to them, this may stem from the school register being in alphabetical order, forcing children with surnames from the end of the alphabet to wait to be called.
And, to get over the psychological barrier, they overcompensate by being the quickest to respond when something is highly sought after, says the study by marketing professors Kurt Carlson and Jacqueline Conard.
The theory is part of a growing belief in nominal determinism -- where behaviour can be subconsciously affected by your name, the 'Daily Express' reported.
For the study, the researchers carried out a survey to find out why some people were willing to queue all night for an iPad or a newly released book.
They said: "The tendency to act quickly to acquire items is related to the first letter of one s childhood surname. Children late in the alphabet will move quickly when last name isn't a factor.
"Those with last names early in the alphabet will be so accustomed to being first that opportunities to make a purchase won't matter much."
The findings have been published in the 'Journal of Consumer Research'.
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