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Related Experiment Videos

Comparison-induced decoy effects.

Jessica M Choplin1, John E Hummel

  • 1DePaul University, Department of Psychology, 2219 North Ken more Avenue, Chicago, IL 60614-3504, USA. jchoplin@depaul.edu

Memory & Cognition
|July 21, 2005
PubMed
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Decoy effects on attribute value evaluations were tested. Comparison-induced distortion theory better explains these effects than adaptation-level theory, suggesting language biases mediate decoy impacts.

Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Decision Making
  • Social Psychology

Background:

  • Decoy effects, where the presence of a third, less attractive option influences choice between two alternatives, are well-documented.
  • Existing theories struggle to fully explain these effects, particularly in one-dimensional evaluations.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To assess the explanatory power of existing theories regarding decoy effects in one-dimensional attribute value evaluations.
  • To propose and test a novel theory, comparison-induced distortion theory, against established models.

Main Methods:

  • Evaluated several prominent theories: range-frequency theory, distance-density model, diagnosticity principle, and reference point theories.
  • Tested adaptation-level theory and the newly proposed comparison-induced distortion theory against a one-dimensional analogue of the asymmetric dominance effect.

Related Experiment Videos

Main Results:

  • Parducci's range-frequency theory, Krumhansl's distance-density model, Tversky's diagnosticity principle, and reference point theories failed to account for the observed effect.
  • Helson's adaptation-level theory and the comparison-induced distortion theory qualitatively explained the effect.
  • Quantitative analysis indicated that comparison-induced distortion theory provided a superior fit compared to adaptation-level theory.

Conclusions:

  • Established theories are insufficient to explain one-dimensional decoy effects.
  • Comparison-induced distortion theory offers a more robust explanation for how decoys influence evaluations.
  • Language-based magnitude comparison biases may play a significant role in mediating decoy effects on evaluations.