Trying hard or hardly trying: An analysis of context effects in choice

Several studies have shown that consumer choice is often influenced by the context or the set of alternatives under consideration. Context effects hav e largely been explained in terms of constructive preferences that are cons istent with 2 theoretical accounts-effort minimization and perceptual contr ast-that emphasize different underlying motivations. We propose that the ef fect of time pressure on context effects can be used as a moderating variab le to determine which of the 2 motives is supported. Specifically, if conte xt effects bias preferences due to effort minimization, time pressure shoul d increase the magnitude of such effects. In contrast, if context effects a rise due to an excessive focus on the relational characteristics of the alt ernatives provided, time pressure should reduce the magnitude of such effec ts. We examine this proposition in relation to the compromise effect and a choice between an extreme and an all-average option. We find that the compr omise effect and the preference for an all-average alternative are both red uced under time pressure. A study using Mouselab provides additional suppor t for the underlying decision mechanisms. We discuss the theoretical implic ations of this research and explore its consequences for marketers.