Knowledge that Transforms

Journal Article Five-Year Subject Index Get access Journal of Consumer Research, Volume 25, Issue 4, March 1999, Pages 437–442, https://doi.org/10.1086/515837 Published: 01 March 1999

Five-Year Author Index Get access Journal of Consumer Research, Volume 25, Issue 4, March 1999, Pages 410–436, https://doi.org/10.1086/515836 Published: 01 March 1999

Volume 25 Author Index Journal of Consumer Research, Volume 25, Issue 4, March 1999, Pages 403–407, https://doi.org/10.1086/515834 Published: 01 March 1999

When consumers are presented with negative information about a brand that they have evaluated positively earlier, the extent to which they change their initial evaluation may depend on the formats in which information is presented (noncomparative vs. comparative) at the two stages. In four experiments, we manipulate the format in which information is presented at an initial and at a challenge stage and investigate their effects on the degree of revision in evaluative judgments. The results of the four experiments suggest that when consumers receive initial information in a noncomparative format, a comparative challenge causes a greater degree of revision in the evaluative judgments than does a noncomparative challenge. However, when the initial information is presented in a comparative format, this pattern reverses, and a greater degree of revision occurs under a noncomparative challenge than under a comparative challenge. We demonstrate that sensitivity to missing information in either of the two stages is the process by which these effects obtain. In a fifth experiment we examine a boundary condition for these effects.

The influence of false-positive results on consumers' decisions to get retested in high-stakes domains is examined. Findings across four laboratory experiments indicate that a false-positive outcome increases perceptions of vulnerability and test inaccuracy, even holding constant test-error base rates. Increased perceived vulnerability appears to be directly related to the testing event, as the effects are not replicated by simply asking subjects to imagine having the malady. The findings also show that a false-positive result increases planned compliance if there are poor alternatives to testing or if the value of test-initiated treatment is high but does not affect compliance if good testing alternatives are available or the treatment value is low. Using a pooled analysis across multiple studies, the results of a false-positive outcome on compliance are shown to be partially mediated by changes in perceived vulnerability and test inaccuracy. Public-policy implications regarding individual decision behavior and professional test administration are discussed.

Journal Article Temporal and Associative Memory in Chinese and English Get access Nader T. Tavassoli Nader T. Tavassoli Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic PubMed Google Scholar Journal of Consumer Research, Volume 26, Issue 2, September 1999, Pages 170–181, https://doi.org/10.1086/209558 Published: 01 September 1999 Article history Received: 01 March 1998 Revision received: 01 February 1999 Published: 01 September 1999

The authors study the role that reference effects play in the category purchase decision for consumer nondurable products. Category purchase behavior is represented by a nested logit model that is estimated on purchase records of shoppers in two Universal Product Code (UPC) scanner panels. A series of hypotheses are developed, modeled, and tested regarding the effects that internal reference points for product category attractiveness are likely to have on the decision to buy in a product category on a store visit. The authors hypothesize that the difference between a shopper's reference point for category attractiveness and the current level of category attractiveness will affect the purchase decision. In particular, the extent of purchase postponement caused by a loss (i.e., a negative discrepancy) should exceed the acceleration caused by a gain (i.e., a positive discrepancy). Reference effects on the category purchase decision are also hypothesized to interact with the shopper's familiarity with the store visited on a given trip. In particular, the impact of losses is predicted to be higher in unfamiliar than in familiar stores. The authors present model estimates and test results from two product categories (saltine crackers and liquid laundry detergent) and find all hypotheses to be supported.

Consumers frequently compare alternatives to make similarity and preference judgments. Recent research suggests that the construction of both similarity and preference judgments can be captured by a feature-matching model that allows for shifts in the relative weights assigned to the various features of the alternatives being compared. An implication of this model is that engaging in one comparative process (e.g., similarity) can influence the relative weight assigned to the features that are considered in a second comparative judgment (e.g., preference). Our main proposition that the type and direction of the initial comparison process has a systematic effect on subsequent preference judgments and choice was tested in a series of studies. One study, which focused on alternatives about which consumers have information in memory, shows that the direction of an initial comparison task that elicits differences between two options systematically alters their relative attractiveness in a subsequent preference task. In two subsequent studies, the effect of engaging in an initial comparison task on subsequent preference judgments was tested for stimulus-based choice sets. The results on choice deferral and choice satisfaction were consistent with the notion that engaging in similarity/dissimilarity comparisons altered the relative weight assigned to common and unique features for the two alternatives. Mouselab was used to support the decision mechanisms underlying the effect of the initial similarity/dissimilarity judgments. An additional study examined how the effect of adding common features on subsequent preference was also contingent on the initial comparison task. We conclude with a study involving real consequences and a discussion of the theoretical and practical goals of our findings.