Translated Attributes as Choice Architecture: Aligning Objectives and Choices Through Decision Signposts

Every attribute can be expressed in multiple ways. For example, car fuel economy can be expressed as fuel efficiency (“miles per gallon”), fuel cost in dollars, or tons of greenhouse gases emitted. Each expression, or “translation,” highlights a different aspect of the same attribute. We describe a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Management science 2018-05, Vol.64 (5), p.2445-2459
Main Authors: Ungemach, Christoph, Camilleri, Adrian R., Johnson, Eric J., Larrick, Richard P., Weber, Elke U.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
applications
behavioral decision making
behavioral economics
Choice (Psychology)
choice architecture
consumer behavior
Decision-making
Environmental management
Fuels
government
Greenhouse gases
Judgment
marketing
proenvironmental behavior
Psychological aspects
Psychological research
regulations
segmentation
Signs
theory
translated attributes
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Summary:Every attribute can be expressed in multiple ways. For example, car fuel economy can be expressed as fuel efficiency (“miles per gallon”), fuel cost in dollars, or tons of greenhouse gases emitted. Each expression, or “translation,” highlights a different aspect of the same attribute. We describe a new mechanism whereby translated attributes can serve as decision “signposts” because they (1) activate otherwise dormant objectives, such as proenvironmental values and goals, and (2) direct the person toward the option that best achieves the activated objective. Across three experiments, we provide evidence for the occurrence of such signpost effects as well as the underlying psychological mechanism. We demonstrate that expressing an attribute such as fuel economy in terms of multiple translations can increase preference for the option that is better aligned with objectives congruent with this attribute (e.g., the more fuel-efficient car for those with proenvironmental attitudes), even when the new information is derivable from other known attributes. We discuss how using translated attributes appropriately can help align a person’s choices with their personal objectives. The online appendix is available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2016.2703 . This paper was accepted by Yuval Rottenstreich, judgment and decision making.
ISSN:0025-1909
1526-5501
DOI:10.1287/mnsc.2016.2703