Carolyn J. Simmons

Inference Effects without Inference Making? Effects of Missing Information on Discounting and Use of Presented Information

Subjects evaluated a focal set of single-attribute product descriptions along with descriptions of competing brands that systematically altered what attributes subjects perceived as missing from the product descriptions. This manipulation selectively increased thoughts about undescribed attributes and led to (1) reduced effects of described-attribute levels on product evaluations and (2) lowered evaluations of a target set of products. In the past, similar effects have been interpreted as evidence that subjects incorporated inferred missing-attribute values in their evaluations. However, the results of the present study suggest that neither effect was mediated by inferencemaking. Process tracing data showed that noting an attribute as missing was usually not followed by inferences about its value. Copyright 1991 by the University of Chicago.

The Use of Concurrent Disclosures to Correct Invalid Inferences

In four experiments we examine the ability of simple concurrent disclosures to correct invalid inferences about brand quality based on advertising claims. We ensure that the disclosure is always encoded, yet we find that it is utilized to correct invalid inferences only under high-capacity conditions. Across the experiments, cognitive capacity is operationalized as opportunity to process (time), ability (explicitness of disclosure), and motivation (accuracy incentive). Two experiments use open-ended brand-claim recall and cognitive responses to establish that elaboration on the qualified claim and disclosure mediates its utilization in updating quality judgments. Given an impression-formation goal, such elaboration can occur on-line at the time of processing brand information or at the time of judgment, provided that the disclosure is internally or externally available. Practical strategies for facilitating the use of disclosures to correct inference errors are offered. Copyright 2000 by the University of Chicago.

Leveraging Equity Across The Brand Portfolio

Industry informants suggest that the equity of well-known, established brands can be leveraged to create value for unfamiliar or less-established brands. To the extent that cues in the retail environment imply some commonality between the high-equity brand and the less-established brand, benefits to the less-established brand may be expected. We refer to this implied commonality as strategic equivalence. Sharing the retail brand portfolio with high-equity brands is one way of establishing strategic equivalence. Display structure—whether the brands are displayed separately or intermixed—can also affect perceptions of strategic equivalence. In two studies, we demonstrate the ability of high-equity brands to increase the value of lower-equity brands in the same retail department and the ability of display structure to moderate this effect.