A unified conceptualization of the attraction effect

K. Sivakumar ()
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K. Sivakumar: Lehigh University

AMS Review, 2016, vol. 6, issue 1, No 5, 39-58

Abstract: Abstract This research focuses on the attraction effect, a phenomenon in which the share of the focal alternative (called “target”), relative to a second alternative (called “competitor”), increases when a third alternative (termed “decoy”) is introduced, such that the target dominates the decoy but the competitor does not. On the one hand, research has demonstrated the existence of the attraction effect in a wide variety of situations; on the other hand, more recent research has questioned the existence of the effect under some circumstances. The purpose of this research is to provide a unified conceptual framework using the reference dependence and loss aversion principles of prospect theory to examine the circumstances under which the attraction effect benefits the target, the competitor, or neither. With its unifying conceptualization of the attraction effect, the research contributes to the literature by reconciling some contradictory findings and viewpoints and offering directions for further exploration.

Keywords: Attraction effect; Choice set context; Prospect theory (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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DOI: 10.1007/s13162-016-0074-3

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