Chapter 11
JUDGMENT AND DECISION
MAKING: LOW CONSUMER
EFFORT
1
Chapter Overview




Low vs. High Effort decision making
Low effort judgement
Low effort decision making processes
Low effort cognitive decision making
» simplifying strategies

Low effort emotional decision making
“Why should I care about
the brand of batteries
I buy? They’re all the
same!”
2
Low- vs. High-Effort Decision
Making
BELIEFS
(think)
Low
Effort
BELIEFS
(think)
ATTITUDES
(feel)
BEHAVIOR
(do)
BEHAVIOR
(do)
ATTITUDES
(feel)
Learning
High Effort
3
Low Effort Judgement
Heuristics commonly used
» simplified decision rule


Representativeness:
Comparison to known
alternatives
Availability: More
accessible or vivid
impressions are more
impactful
4
The Availability Heuristic

Base-rate info may be ignored
» You get a “lemon” and stay away from that car
manufacturer, whose general record of reliability is good

Law of small numbers
» Experience of few people generalized to entire population
5
Choice Simplification
Strategies


Satisficing decisions: Good
enough is good enough!
Choice tactics, e.g.:
»
»
»
»
»
price
affect
performance
normative
recommendation (WOM or
from salesperson)
6
Learning of Choice Tactics

Operant conditioning
» reinforcement
–
–
–
–
good performance
liked product
social approval
solved problem
Repurchase
» punishment
“Not bad!”
– poor performance
– caused problems
Change behavior
7
Low-Effort Thought-Based
Decision Making

Simplifying Strategies
»
»
»
»
»
Performance-related
H
Brand loyalty
P
Normative
8
Individual Application Exercise
Apply each of the simplifying strategies
to the decision of where to buy gasoline
for your car.
 Provide a specific, detailed statement to
illustrate each choice tactic (i.e., “I buy
gas at Chevron because……”).
 Discuss with the class

9
Low-Effort Feeling-Based
Decision Making

Feeling
» affect referral
» brand familiarity


Variety-Seeking
Impulse Buying
10
Chapter 11 Review

Low effort Judgement Processes
» heuristics

Low effort Decision-Making Processes
» low effort vs. high effort
» operant conditioning

Low effort cognitive decision making
» simplifying strategies (5)

Low effort affective decision making
» Feelings, variety seeking & impulse buys
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