The Role of Attribute Importance in the Effect of Defaults on Choice: the Moderating Effect of Budget Range and Justification

Loss aversion or an endowment-based explanation clearly predicts that high (i.e., more expensive) defaults will have a stronger effect on choice than will low (i.e., less expensive) defaults. This research examines whether the effect of the ordinal position of defaults (low vs. high) on choice differs depending on the importance of attributes that constitute the defaults. Furthermore, we propose that consumers’ budget range and justification for choice differentially affect the dual mechanisms that vary the degree of loss aversion (i.e., changes in cognitive focus and emotional attachment) as suggested by Ariely et al. (2005), and thus they serve to moderate the effect of defaults on choice.

Citation:

Sehoon Park and Moon-Yong Kim (2009) ,"The Role of Attribute Importance in the Effect of Defaults on Choice: the Moderating Effect of Budget Range and Justification", in NA - Advances in Consumer Research Volume 36, eds. Ann L. McGill and Sharon Shavitt, Duluth, MN : Association for Consumer Research, Pages: 656-657.