Abstract
Even the simplest choices can prompt decision-makers to balance their preferences against other, more pragmatic considerations like price. Thus, discerning people's preferences from their decisions creates theoretical, empirical, and practical challenges. The current paper addresses these challenges by highlighting some specific circumstances in which the amount of time that people spend examining potential purchase items (i.e., viewing time) can in fact reveal their preferences. Our model builds from the gazing literature, in a purchasing context, to propose that the informational value of viewing time depends on prices. Consistent with the model's predictions, four studies show that when prices are absent or moderate, viewing time provides a signal that is consistent with a person's preferences and purchase intentions. When prices are extreme or consistent with a person's preferences, however, viewing time is a less reliable predictor of either. Thus, our model highlights a price-contingent "viewing bias," shedding theoretical, empirical, and practical light on the psychology of preferences and visual attention, and identifying a readily observable signal of preference.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Article number | e0117137 |
| Journal | PLoS One |
| Volume | 10 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jan 12 2015 |
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ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Agricultural and Biological Sciences(all)
- Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology(all)
- Medicine(all)
Cite this
The tell-tale look : Viewing time, preferences, and prices. / Gunia, Brian C.; Murnighan, J. Keith.
In: PLoS One, Vol. 10, No. 1, e0117137, 12.01.2015.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
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TY - JOUR
T1 - The tell-tale look
T2 - Viewing time, preferences, and prices
AU - Gunia, Brian C.
AU - Murnighan, J. Keith
PY - 2015/1/12
Y1 - 2015/1/12
N2 - Even the simplest choices can prompt decision-makers to balance their preferences against other, more pragmatic considerations like price. Thus, discerning people's preferences from their decisions creates theoretical, empirical, and practical challenges. The current paper addresses these challenges by highlighting some specific circumstances in which the amount of time that people spend examining potential purchase items (i.e., viewing time) can in fact reveal their preferences. Our model builds from the gazing literature, in a purchasing context, to propose that the informational value of viewing time depends on prices. Consistent with the model's predictions, four studies show that when prices are absent or moderate, viewing time provides a signal that is consistent with a person's preferences and purchase intentions. When prices are extreme or consistent with a person's preferences, however, viewing time is a less reliable predictor of either. Thus, our model highlights a price-contingent "viewing bias," shedding theoretical, empirical, and practical light on the psychology of preferences and visual attention, and identifying a readily observable signal of preference.
AB - Even the simplest choices can prompt decision-makers to balance their preferences against other, more pragmatic considerations like price. Thus, discerning people's preferences from their decisions creates theoretical, empirical, and practical challenges. The current paper addresses these challenges by highlighting some specific circumstances in which the amount of time that people spend examining potential purchase items (i.e., viewing time) can in fact reveal their preferences. Our model builds from the gazing literature, in a purchasing context, to propose that the informational value of viewing time depends on prices. Consistent with the model's predictions, four studies show that when prices are absent or moderate, viewing time provides a signal that is consistent with a person's preferences and purchase intentions. When prices are extreme or consistent with a person's preferences, however, viewing time is a less reliable predictor of either. Thus, our model highlights a price-contingent "viewing bias," shedding theoretical, empirical, and practical light on the psychology of preferences and visual attention, and identifying a readily observable signal of preference.
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U2 - 10.1371/journal.pone.0117137
DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0117137
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JO - PLoS One
JF - PLoS One
SN - 1932-6203
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