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The Joint Effect of Social Comparison and Social Distance on Evaluation of Intertemporal Choice Outcomes in Event-related Potential Studies
Published on: August 25, 2023
852
Salient knowledge that others are also evaluating reduces judgment extremity
Claire I Tsai1, Min Zhao2, Dilip Soman1
1Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 3E6 Canada.
Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science
|October 5, 2021
Summary
Knowing others are also completing online surveys reduces judgment extremity. Consumers predict moderate consensus and conform to it, impacting marketing research and crowdsourcing insights.
Area of Science:
- Consumer Psychology
- Marketing Research
- Digital Behavior
Background:
- Online marketing research is common, making respondents aware of others participating.
- This awareness of social presence in digital research contexts is understudied.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how the salience of social presence influences consumer judgments in online research.
- To understand the psychological mechanisms behind this influence.
Main Methods:
- Six main studies and one auxiliary study were conducted.
- The research focused on digital contexts where judgments are private and consensus is unverified.
Main Results:
- High salience of others evaluating reduced judgment extremity.
- This effect is driven by a tendency to predict and conform to a moderate consensus.
Conclusions:
- Awareness of other respondents moderates consumer judgments in online research.
- Findings have implications for survey design, data interpretation in marketing research, and crowdsourcing platforms.
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