Knowledge that Transforms

JCR Forthcoming Articles Get access Journal of Consumer Research, Volume 14, Issue 1, June 1987, BackCover, https://doi.org/10.1093/jcr/14.1.BackCover Published: 01 June 1987

JCR Forthcoming Articles Journal of Consumer Research, Volume 14, Issue 2, September 1987, BackCover, https://doi.org/10.1093/jcr/14.2.BackCover Published: 01 September 1987

This study assesses the predictive validity of aggregate frequency data yielded by Consumer Reports' annual surveys of problems experienced by owners of used cars. For cars representing each of five model years (1975-1979), bivariate and multivariate correlational techniques were used to analyze the data of six annual surveys. The data report owner problems experienced in 15 to 17 individual categories as well as an overall category. The study findings indicate that each year's reported frequencies of problems are highly predictive of next year's, both for the overall and individual categories. Predictability was found to differ significantly by individual problem category and by the recency of the survey data. Policy implications of the findings are discussed for consumer magazines, such as Consumer Reports, and for consumer educators and consumer researchers.

Journal Article Do We Need Critical Relativism? Comments on “On Method in Consumer Research” Get access Lee G. Cooper Lee G. Cooper Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic PubMed Google Scholar Journal of Consumer Research, Volume 14, Issue 1, June 1987, Pages 126–127, https://doi.org/10.1086/209098 Published: 01 June 1987 Article history Received: 01 September 1986 Revision received: 01 March 1987 Published: 01 June 1987

Michael A. Brooks, Peter E. Earl; On the Implications of Jointness in a Normative Model of Behavior Based on an Activity Hierarchy, Journal of Consumer Res

Journal Article Chasing the Holy Grail: Reflections on “What Is Consumer Research?” Get access Jerome B. Kernan Jerome B. Kernan Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic PubMed Google Scholar Journal of Consumer Research, Volume 14, Issue 1, June 1987, Pages 133–135, https://doi.org/10.1086/209100 Published: 01 June 1987 Article history Received: 01 December 1986 Published: 01 June 1987

A response latency methodology was developed and used to assess spokesperson effectiveness. Results indicate that when a product identification decision was primed by a correct spokesperson name, subjects were able to identify product names as such significantly faster than when the decision was unprimed or misprimed. Based on the results of the latency experiment, characteristics of successful spokespersons were identified using multiple regression. Theoretical and methodological implications of the response latency technique are discussed.

How does audience evaluation relate to audience size? In practice, television viewers give series liking scores that are middling rather than high because TV series are watched irregularly by most of their viewers, and how much viewers say they like a series varies with how often they watch it. There is also a Double Jeopardy effect whereby series with small audiences are liked somewhat less by their relatively few viewers than the more popular series are liked by theirs. Also, more demanding programs tend to get slightly higher liking scores than entertainment programs after allowing for their often smaller audiences.

Subjects completed a purchase decision under a computer-controlled laboratory simulation that enabled acquisition of both attribute-value and recommendation information from five sources. Analysis of subjects' acquisitions and recorded statements during the decision process offered support for the existence of unique decision strategies for situations involving availability of both kinds of information. Based on the manner in which recommendation information was used, these strategies were subdivided into (1) a recommendation-forms-evoked-set (RFES) for consideration, and (2) a recommendation-forms-standard (RFS) for comparison to other brand alternatives. Differences in strategy use between two product categories were explored.

Although the use of cutoffs in heuristic decision strategies has been widely discussed, few studies have attempted to identify which cutoffs will be used in a particular decision. In this article it is proposed that decision makers choose cutoffs that maximally discriminate retained and rejected alternatives in terms of utility. Thus, cutoff selection is influenced by the utility structures that the decision maker has for salient attributes of the alternatives. A model is tested in which cutoffs are assumed to be positioned where the difference in utility between the two attribute levels that span the cutoff is greatest. Utilities are measured by conjoint analysis and cutoffs are identified by concurrent protocols. The proposed relationships are generally supported; however, the nature of the errors in the model's predictions suggests a modification in which cutoff placement is more conservative. A second model with more conservative cutoffs is shown to work well in specific decisions, but does not generally predict cutoffs better than the original model. In addition, the outcomes from heuristic choice processes were often optimal. Decision makers who use cutoffs may select them rationally, with the expectation of making the best choice as well as simplifying a decision.