EXPRESS: Disentangling Product Comparisons with the Attribute-Hedonic Model

Marketing tactics often assume that consumers comparing products (e.g., two TVs) will show a hedonic contrast. In other words, a product seems more appealing, and consumers are willing to pay more for it when compared with an unappealing competitor than a highly appealing one. However, hedonic judgments (e.g., how appealing is this TV?) are confounded with underlying attribute judgments (e.g., how big is this TV?) and it is important to delineate their effects. This paper presents six studies to disentangle them and finds evidence for two separate effects in opposite directions: while attribute judgments contrast with a competitor, hedonic judgments assimilate. Thus, marketing tactics based on the assumption of the hedonic contrast hypothesis can potentially backfire, reducing willingness to pay. More generally this research reveals the hidden complexity underlying product comparisons.