The Effect of Ordering Decisions by Choice-Set Size on Consumer Search

Bibliographic Data

ID2222835
AuthorsJonathan Levav (0000-0002-2726-399X), Nicholas Reinholtz (0000-0003-0696-1972), Claire Lin (0009-0006-7201-7567)
Year2012
Volume39
Issue3
Pages585-599
Publication date2012-10-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Consumer Research (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0093-5301 • E-ISSN: 1537-5277
PublisherOxford University Press (OUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1086/664498
OpenAlexW2104570880
LanguageEN
Citations received8
References cited44

Consumers frequently engage in sequential decisions. This article explores whether the order of these decisions can influence the manner in which consumers search through the possible choice options. Results from five studies suggest that ordering decisions by increasing (vs. decreasing) choice-set size leads to greater search depth (measured by both sampling count and decision time). Initial, smaller choice sets in increasing sequences appear to initiate a maximizing mind-set, which then persists even as participants encounter later, larger choice sets. These participants report a greater desire to maximize and are less satisfied with their decisions, consistent with research on chronic maximizers. In addition, they continue to exhibit maximizing behavior in subsequent, unrelated tasks, supporting a mind-set account of the differences in search. In sum, decision makers are proposed to be “sticky adapters”: initial decision strategies seem to constrain the extent to which they adapt to new contexts

Advertising · Business · Consumer research · Information retrieval · Library science · Set (abstract data type) · Behavioral Health and Interventions · Computer Science · Consumer Market Behavior and Pricing · Decision-Making and Behavioral Economics · Psychology