Dhananjay Nayakankuppam

The A2SC2 Model: The Influence of Attitudes and Attitude Strength on Consideration and Choice

This research investigates the influence of attitudes and attitude strength on consideration and choice. Three experiments provide support for the Attitude and Attitude Strength, Consideration and Choice (A2SC2) Model, which hypothesizes that (a) attitude strength moderates the influence of attitudes on consideration, such that attitudes guide consideration more for strongly held attitudes than for weakly held attitudes and (b) consideration of a brand mediates the influence of attitudes and attitude strength on choice. Copyright 2004 by the University of Chicago.

The Endowment Effect: Rose-Tinted and Dark-Tinted Glasses

The endowment effect, predicted by prospect theory, is a robust finding in behavioral decision theory. Extending recent examinations of the underlying processes, we present evidence for differential perceptions of the traded item, with sellers focusing more on positive features and less on negative features, relative to buyers. In experiment 1, sellers and buyers access information of differing valence in a free recall task. Experiment 2 utilizes error rates and response latencies to demonstrate systematic, and differing, patterns of errors and biases in reactions to valenced stimuli. Experiment 3 utilizes contrast effects to manipulate these foci, thereby moderating the endowment effect. (c) 2005 by JOURNAL OF CONSUMER RESEARCH, Inc..

Money: A Bias for the Whole

We document the phenomenon of “bias for the whole,” wherein greater value is perceived for money in the form of a whole (large denomination) than for equivalent amounts of money in parts (smaller denominations), resulting in a lower inclination to spend with the whole. We demonstrate across four experiments that the bias arises from greater processing fluency experienced in processing the whole as opposed to parts. This processing fluency is hedonically marked and generates positive affect that is attributed to the money, which results in an overvaluation of the whole, making one reluctant to spend with the whole.

The Blissful Ignorance Effect: Pre- versus Post-action Effects on Outcome Expectancies Arising from Precise and Vague Information

This article examines the effects on outcome expectancies of precise versus vague information across two contexts: prior to an action taken by the consumer (pre-action) and after the action is taken (post-action). Across three experiments, we show that with vague information individuals are more optimistic of outcomes post-action compared to pre-action; this difference is attenuated with precise information. We term this inconsistency the blissful ignorance effect and show that it arises due to the interplay of two goals in decision making, the goal to arrive at a desired conclusion (directional goal) and the goal to be accurate (accuracy goal) about ones outcome expectancies. (c) 2008 by JOURNAL OF CONSUMER RESEARCH, Inc..

The Group-Contagion Effect The Influence of Spatial Groupings on Perceived Contagion and Preferences

We used contagion theory as a framework for studying the influence of spread of qualities in a group. We found that peoples preferences change depending on how objects are arranged in a group. They prefer to choose from a closely arranged group if one unidentified object in that group has a positive quality, but prefer to choose from a group in which objects are farther apart if one unidentified object in that group has a negative quality. We call this pattern of preference the group-contagion effect. We also found that the magnitude of the effect increases if the number of objects possessing the positive or negative quality increases.

Consistency and Validity Issues in Consumer Judgments

Prior research has traced poor judgment quality to poor calibration. We suggest inconsistency to be another reason for poor judgment quality-utilizing different models on different occasions resulting in increased wandering in judgments. We demonstrate differing consistency in the utilization of models depending upon which variable is used as a cue and which is used as the criterion to be predicted. This results in differing correlations underlying judgments between the same two variables, an internally inconsistent pattern. We trace this to the utilization of lay causal models to make predictions but with the strength of the causal story moderating the consistency in use of the model. (c) 2006 by JOURNAL OF CONSUMER RESEARCH, Inc..