Context, Anchoring and Dispositional Effects in Evaluating Product Prices

Evaluation of product prices is to some extent influenced by a diverse set of cognitive heuristics. The context in which the evaluation takes place, internal dispositions and external stimuli influence information processing and judgment formation. In the present field study three groups of factors were applied: (a) product price references (maximum, minimum, or no reference) which were either closely or remotely tied to the actual price of the product; (b) the context in which the products were evaluated (prestigious or less prestigious shopping centers); and (c) internal motivational dispositions which help to generate peoples' expectations and direct their judgments (peoples wealth, education level, and disposition toward quality). Results showed that all factors affected product price estimates. Results were explained by expectations created by heuristics such as anchoring and adjustment and availability. Visitors' different expectations in prestigious centers (quality) and less prestigious centers (bargains) was the most influential factor.