Effect of price information on product quality ratings

Abstract

Obtained taste quality ratings on 3 food products discriminable in a blind-taste test condition and varying widely in price from 46 female undergraduates. Each of the 3 products was identified twice as a low-, twice as a medium-, and twice as a high-price product. Confirming 2 hypotheses, taste quality ratings were positively related to price information given and to actual product differences. Contrary to the 3rd hypothesis, actual product differences accounted for approximately 3 times as much variance as price information given. Several differences between the laboratory setting and actual consumer behavior may have led to an underestimation of the effects of price cues on consumer quality judgments. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)