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Updated: Feb 4, 2026

A Psychophysics Paradigm for the Collection and Analysis of Similarity Judgments
Published on: March 1, 2022
The comparison process as an account of variation in the attraction, compromise, and similarity effects
Andrea M Cataldo1, Andrew L Cohen2
1Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, USA. amcataldo@psych.umass.edu.
Abstract:
Context effects are changes in preference that occur when alternatives are added to a choice set. Models that account for context effects typically assume a within-dimension comparison process; however, the presentation format of a choice set can influence comparison strategies. The present study jointly tests the influence of presentation format on the attraction, compromise, and similarity effects in a within-subjects design. Participants completed a series of choices designed to elicit each of the three context effects, with either a by-alternative or by-dimension format. Whereas the by-alternative format elicited a standard similarity effect, but null attraction and reverse compromise effects, the by-dimension format elicited standard attraction and compromise effects, but a reverse similarity effect. These novel results are supported by a re-analysis of the eye-tracking data collected by Noguchi and Stewart (Cognition, 132(1), 44-56, 2014) and demonstrate that flexibility in the comparison process should be incorporated into theories of preferential choice.
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