To be or not to be, what's the difference?: The mediating role of information search in the effect of accept and reject framing on choice

Date
2017-05-09
Authors
Theriault, Justin
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Guelph
Abstract

The purpose of this thesis was to determine whether the assumption that accept and reject framing influences decisions by affecting the salience of different attributes is justified. That is, the current study sought to determine whether the type of information (positive or negative) searched for can explain the observed relationship between accept/reject framing and choice such that positive attributes have a greater influence if asked to accept an option, whereas negative attributes have a greater influence if asked to reject. Responses from 164 undergraduate participants were collected and analyzed using the PROCESS macro for SPSS. Results suggest that framing indirectly impacts choice sequentially through the first set of reviews examined then second set of reviews. These findings contribute to the literature on accept and reject framing and have implication for how to manage which reviews are used by consumers.

Description
Keywords
Accept and reject tasks, Framing effects, Product reviews
Citation