The study looked at how people change their gasoline buying habits when they expect prices to go up or down. By analyzing data from all gasoline transactions in Iran over four months, researchers found that consumers hold back on buying when they think prices will drop. This behavior affects estimates of how much demand for gasoline changes with price. After accounting for these behaviors, the researchers found that the price elasticity of gasoline demand in Iran is around -0.085, which is lower than previously thought. This means that for every 1% increase in gasoline prices, demand only decreases by 0.085%. Earlier studies that looked at data in larger chunks like weeks or months overestimated this effect.