When I’m home, I try and go to the movie theater to catch up on the films I miss while I’m so busy at college. I’d also rather go see Broadway shows instead of movies since I’m LIVING in New York City, but that’s just me. And honestly, Broadway shows have begun to be a tad bit cheaper than movies. Granted, I’m really good at getting cheap tickets, but still. The most expensive movie ticket is an upwards of $20 for the IMAX and 3D movies, the cheapest being probably $10. But with a film, I almost always end up wanting that traditional treat at the movies: food.

During my break at home, I saw the new Hunger Games movie with a big group of my friends at home. We had a tradition of going to the midnight showing and I loved the books, so I was excited to see them all and see the last installment. The first thing we all did when we got to the movie theatre was get in line to buy food. I split a popcorn with my friend, Juliette, and we all kind of paired off and split food. We spent all of this money on food when we know that small popcorn was not worth $7.50, and the small drink was not worth $3.50. And when the cashier asked me whether or not I wanted to get a larger drink for 50 cents, I remembered what we learned in psychology about super sizing and how it originated in a movie theater.

Once again, I went to the movie theaters while I was at home. My parents took my brother and I to see Spectre; we’re huge James Bond fans. We went a few days after hosting Thanksgiving, so we had just gorged on Thanksgiving leftovers for dinner (Turkey Supreme!) But my brother still proposed we get popcorn, so my mom and I went and got seats while he and my dad got food. They soon came back with four drinks, a bucket of popcorn, and pretzels with cheese for my mom and I. My mom kept saying she was too full, but ate the pretzels anyway.

Movie theaters run on food cues and social conventions. So even though I didn’t have all of my drink or my popcorn the first time and neither did any of my friends, they still considered getting the larger size for 50 cents. And my mom and dad kept saying they weren’t hungry, but my dad was the one who bought all of the food and they still ate it. It’s an expensive trip to make, so I think I’ll stick to the Broadway shows while at school.