University
Shawnee State University
Major
MS Mathmatics
Presentation Types
Recorded Presentation
Abstract
This research has the objective of demonstrating that the antecedents of confidence in evaluation differ between absolute evaluations (an object is evaluated in isolation) and comparative evaluations (the object is compared with another object on one or more comparable dimensions). Previous research in social psychology has identified certain antecedents of confidence in absolute evaluation such as amount of information and cognitive elaboration. As the evaluations in marketing are in a comparative context, the prior findings from social psychology research may not hold. The current research will identify an important boundary condition for the prior research findings.
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
This study will contribute a good deal toward our understanding of what causes confidence in absolute evaluation versus comparative evaluation. The findings will be very useful for theory building in consumer psychology. Further, the findings will help marketers to measure confidence in two different ways and arrive at strategic conclusions based on these measures.
PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
This research has the objective of establishing that the antecedents of confidence in absolute evaluations reported in psychological research do not have any effect on confidence in comparative evaluations. The specific purpose of this study is to identify an important boundary condition for the prior findings in psychology concerning the roles of the amount of information about the focal object and the degree of elaboration of the given information.
PRIMARY RESEARCH QUESTIONS
Do the amount of information and the elaboration of information that has been considered as the antecedents of absolute evaluations serve the same role for comparative evaluations? If not, what causes confidence in comparative evaluations? Within the context of absolute evaluation, will there be any difference in evaluations between the low and the high amount of information? Likewise, within the context of absolute evaluations, will there be any difference in evaluations between the low and high elaboration groups?
The two key hypotheses to be tested in our study are stated below.
H1: The amount of information available for the focal brand causes confidence in absolute evaluations. In contrast, the amount of information will not have any effect on confidence in comparative evaluations.
H2: Cognitive elaboration of the information about the focal brand causes confidence in absolute evaluations. In contrast, cognitive elaboration will not have any effect on confidence in comparative evaluations.
METHOD
The study will be a paper and pencil study in which three factors (type of evaluation, amount of information, and elaboration) will be manipulated. Participants will evaluate MP4 players and express confidence in these evaluations. All the manipulations are in the form of variations in the information about one or more brands or additional instructions about careful processing. The participants will spend a maximum of 10 minutes reading the information and giving their evaluation and confidence ratings.
Human Subjects
yes
IRB Approval
yes
Faculty Mentor Name
Douglas G. Darbro, Ph.D.
Faculty Mentor Title
Program Director, Master of Science in Mathematics
Faculty Mentor Academic Department
Mathematical Sciences
Recommended Citation
MUTHUKRISHNAN, A V., "CoS" (2024). Celebration of Scholarship. 4.
https://digitalcommons.shawnee.edu/cos/2024/recorded/4
CoS
This research has the objective of demonstrating that the antecedents of confidence in evaluation differ between absolute evaluations (an object is evaluated in isolation) and comparative evaluations (the object is compared with another object on one or more comparable dimensions). Previous research in social psychology has identified certain antecedents of confidence in absolute evaluation such as amount of information and cognitive elaboration. As the evaluations in marketing are in a comparative context, the prior findings from social psychology research may not hold. The current research will identify an important boundary condition for the prior research findings.
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
This study will contribute a good deal toward our understanding of what causes confidence in absolute evaluation versus comparative evaluation. The findings will be very useful for theory building in consumer psychology. Further, the findings will help marketers to measure confidence in two different ways and arrive at strategic conclusions based on these measures.
PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
This research has the objective of establishing that the antecedents of confidence in absolute evaluations reported in psychological research do not have any effect on confidence in comparative evaluations. The specific purpose of this study is to identify an important boundary condition for the prior findings in psychology concerning the roles of the amount of information about the focal object and the degree of elaboration of the given information.
PRIMARY RESEARCH QUESTIONS
Do the amount of information and the elaboration of information that has been considered as the antecedents of absolute evaluations serve the same role for comparative evaluations? If not, what causes confidence in comparative evaluations? Within the context of absolute evaluation, will there be any difference in evaluations between the low and the high amount of information? Likewise, within the context of absolute evaluations, will there be any difference in evaluations between the low and high elaboration groups?
The two key hypotheses to be tested in our study are stated below.
H1: The amount of information available for the focal brand causes confidence in absolute evaluations. In contrast, the amount of information will not have any effect on confidence in comparative evaluations.
H2: Cognitive elaboration of the information about the focal brand causes confidence in absolute evaluations. In contrast, cognitive elaboration will not have any effect on confidence in comparative evaluations.
METHOD
The study will be a paper and pencil study in which three factors (type of evaluation, amount of information, and elaboration) will be manipulated. Participants will evaluate MP4 players and express confidence in these evaluations. All the manipulations are in the form of variations in the information about one or more brands or additional instructions about careful processing. The participants will spend a maximum of 10 minutes reading the information and giving their evaluation and confidence ratings.