Chapter 9
Judgment & Decision Making
Based on Low Consumer Effort
Learning Objectives~ Ch. 9
To understand:
1. Heuristics & simple judgment
2. Conscious & unconscious decisions
3. Hierarchy of effects, decision heuristics, &
operant conditioning
4. Thought-based strategies of performance
tactics, habit, brand loyalty, price-related
tactics, & normative influences
5. Feeling-based strategies of affective tactics,
variety seeking, & impulse purchasing
Judgment & Decision Making:
Low Consumer Effort
Shortcuts in Making LowEffort Judgments
A heuristic is a “rule of thumb” to simplify things
A. Representativeness Heuristic: Comparing a
stimulus with the category prototype/exemplar
B. Availability Heuristics: Basing judgments on
events that are easier to recall
– Base-Rate Information
– Law of Small Numbers
Unconscious Low-Effort
Decision Making
You may make a decision without being
consciously aware of how or why you are doing
so. Example?
Use of all senses
Environmental stimuli
Automatic goal-relevant behavior
Conscious Low-Effort
Decision Making
Low-Effort vs. High-Effort Decision Making
Hierarchy of Effects
– Thinking > Feeling > Behaving
– Passive/Incidental Learning
– Post-Purchase
– Thinking > Behaving > Feeling
Simplifying Strategies
– Optimizing
– Satisfice
Hierarchy of Effects
Consumer Learning Process
How Consumers Learn
to Apply Choice Tactics
Choice tactic: simple rule of thumb consumers use to
make low-effort decisions
Consumers may learn choice tactics via: Operant
Conditioning: behavior is ƒ(previous actions &
reinforcements or punishments obtained from these
actions)
– Reinforcement
– Punishment
– Repeat Purchase
Choice = Product Dependent
Simplifying Strategies
in Low Elaboration Contexts
Recall, in low effort contexts (e.g., beverage)
consumers apply different choice tactics than in
high effort contexts (e.g., new car)
Simplifying Strategies: When MAO is low,
consumers are motivated to simplify the
cognitive process with heuristics
How a message is framed influences how
consumers react
Choice Tactics
1. Performance-related
2. Habit
3. Brand Loyalty
4. Price
5. Normative influences
6. Feelings/affect
7. Variety Seeking
(note, you may recognize these in the left box of
the consumer-learning process figure shown
prior)
1. Performance
as a Simplifying Strategy
Performance-Related Tactics: when the outcome
of the consumption process is positive
reinforcement
Can be an overall evaluation of performance, or
focused on a specific attribute or benefit
– Quality
– Important features/benefits
– Sales promotions
2. Habit
as a Simplifying Strategy
Having a habit (e.g., in the grocery store) is a
simplifying strategy
Habits can make life simpler & or more
manageable
Habit—Repeat Purchase, Shaping
– Little/no information sought
– Little/no evaluation of alternatives
– Promotion/distribution policies
3. Brand Loyalty
as a Simplifying Strategy
Brand/Multibrand Loyalty
– Purchase pattern + commitment to brand
– Cognitive lock-in
– Resistant to competitive efforts
– Quality/Satisfaction
4. Price
as a Simplifying Strategy
Consumer Side
Price Considerations:
-Zone of
Acceptance
-Price Perceptions
-Deal-Prone
Consumers
-Price
consciousness is
not static
Marketer Side Price Considerations:
-Coupons
-Price-offs
-Rebates
-Two-for-ones
-Savings must be:
at or above the just noticeable
difference
& within zone of acceptance
-Special pricing must not be used
too often or risk of dilution
5. Normative Influences
as a Simplifying Strategy
Others can influence consumers’ low-elaboration
decision making
Normative Influences
– Direct
– Vicarious
– Indirect
6. Feelings/Affect
as a Simplifying Strategy
Affect: low level feelings
Think of a brand you just like, & you don’t really
know why.
Affect does not necessarily result from a conscious
recognition of need satisfaction
Affect is weaker than attitude
Affect referral: the “how do I feel about it heuristic”
Affect is often generated from brand familiarity
•The mere exposure effect
•Visual Attributes
•Co-Branding
7. Decision Making Based on
Variety-Seeking Needs
Variety-Seeking Needs (e.g., in soft drinks)
– Satiation/Boredom
– Optimal Stimulation/Sensation Seekers
– Vicarious Exploration
Buying on Impulse/Impulse Purchases
– Intense feeling
– Disregard negative consequences
– Euphoria/Excitement
– Conflict between control vs. Indulgence
– What impacted your last impulse purchase?
Consumer $ Saving Strategies
Under low-effort decision
making, consumers often use
performance tactics to choose
a brand. This ad
demonstrates that Tostitos
Salsa Con Queso contains
real cheese. The important
feature of the brand is
emphasized in the ad &
packaging.
Courtesy Frito-Lay, Inc.
Questions?