INTEGRATING MULTIPLE OPINIONS - THE ROLE OF ASPIRATION LEVEL ON CONSUMER RESPONSE TO CRITIC CONSENSUS

Four studies examine the process by which consumers integrate critic o pinions and attribute information into their product evaluations and h ow critic consensus affects this process. A reference-dependent model is proposed such that consumer response to consensus depends on whethe r the average critic rating for an alternative is above or below an as piration level. Consensus is shown to be preferred for alternatives ab ove an aspiration level, whereas critic disagreement is preferred for alternatives below an aspiration level. Consumers exhibited a tendency to prefer critic disagreement for high-priced products or decisions a ssociated with high social risk because most alternatives fell below t heir high aspiration levels.