Beyond Numbers: An Ambiguity–Accessibility–Applicability Framework to Explain the Attraction Effect

Abstract The attraction effect (AE) occurs when the addition of an inferior alternative (i.e., a decoy) to a choice set increases the choice share of the alternative to which it is most similar (i.e., a target), a phenomenon that violates the regularity principle. The AE occurs reliably when the attribute values are represented numerically, but not when the stimuli are perceptual. Such conceptual replication failures indicate a lack of clarity about the mechanisms that produce the AE. The present research develops a framework—the 3A framework—that specifies the distinct functions of ambiguity, accessibility, and applicability in the choice process. These factors, and their attendant mechanisms, explain when and why the AE emerges. They also specify conditions under which the AE is attenuated. Seven main experiments and four supplementary experiments examine when and why the AE emerges with perceptual stimuli, provide support for the 3A framework, and offer insights about how to produce the AE in choice contexts involving perceptual stimuli.