Adapting cutoffs to the choice environment: the effects of attribute correlation and reliability

Article Abstract:

Consumers frequently simplify complex choices by setting attribute cutoffs, which are minimum acceptable levels that an alternative must possess to be considered further. We explore the extent to which consumers adapt these cutoffs to the choice environment. We show that, as the reliability of information about the attribute increases, consumers make more severe cutoffs (i.e., fewer attribute levels are acceptable). Further, positive correlations between attributes elicit more severe cutoffs than negative correlations do, and consumers' expectations about the choice outcome partially mediate this relationship. The format of correlational information also affects adaptation: consumers adapt their cutoffs when they are given direct information about the correlation, but not when they are allowed to infer the correlation from a set of alternatives. Overall, consumers appear to adapt to information about reliability and correlations, but they have difficulty assessing correlation from the choice environment. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)

Psychological aspects, Brand choice, Consumer preferences, Consumer behavior, Cost benefit analysis

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Context effects on effort and accuracy on choice: an enquiry into adaptive decision making

Article Abstract:

Previous research suggests that context variables may have strong effects on choice accuracy, but little is known about consumers' awareness of context or strategic response to changes in choice context. In this study, increasing the number of dominated alternatives significantly improved choice accuracy and reduced choice effort. Unobtrusive measures show that decision makers simplified the choice sets less when there were more dominated alternatives. The findings support the importance of context; several relationships between choice process and outcomes were context specific. Decision makers may rely on relatively simple forms of feedback about choice context as they go through the choice process, rather than systematically assessing it prior to strategy selection. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)

Decision-making, Decision making, Choice (Psychology)

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