The Influence of Categorical Attributes on Choice Context Effects
Young-Won Ha, Sehoon Park, Hee-Kyung Ahn
Journal of Consumer Research · 2009 · Volume 36 · Issue 3
Abstract
This article documents the influence of categorical attributes on choice context effects. We demonstrate that the asymmetric dominance effect is attenuated by the introduction of a unique categorical feature in the competing option, while the tendency to prefer a middle option is not significantly affected. Our findings indicate that the presence of an important/salient categorical attribute facilitates “editing out” of the asymmetrically dominated option, weakening the asymmetric dominance effect. Further, when initial category-based elimination is enforced, the asymmetric dominance effect and the tendency to prefer a middle option are both mitigated.
Keywords
Choice (Brand or Product Level), Judgment and Decision Making, Experimental Design and Analysis (ANOVA), Qualitative Dependent Variable Analysis
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