double-blind study - an experimental procedure in which neither the subjects of the experiment nor the persons administering the experiment know the critical aspects of the experiment; a double-blind procedure is used to guard against both experimenter bias and placebo effects.
No they get more expensive, airlines will always advise you to book in advance to take advantage of their best fares. Sometimes they do a special deal but not within a week of flying. I would try another airline or make different plans.
That's when the airlines adjust their prices to match whatever deal another airline ran on Monday. And it's still good advice. However, researchers recently found that weekends are overall the best time to buy. Also, the day you fly makes a big difference, with Tuesday being the least expensive. Sites like Matrix, Bing Travel and AirfareWatchdog can help you find cheap flights or predict when prices are going to be the cheapest.