Rejections Are More Contagious than Choices: How Another’s Decisions Shape Our Own

Lana Xianglan Nan, Sang Kyu Park, Yang Yang, Amna Kirmani, June Cotte and Brent McFerran

Journal of Consumer Research, 2023, vol. 50, issue 2, 363-381

Abstract: Every day, we learn about others’ decisions from various sources. We perceive some of these decisions as choices and others as rejections. Does the mere perception of another’s decision as a choice versus as a rejection influence our own behavior? Are we more likely to conform to another’s decision if we view it in one way or the other? The current research investigates the social influence of decision frames. Eight studies, including a field study conducted during a livestreaming event hosted by an influencer with over 1.5 million followers, find that people are more likely to conform to another’s decision if it is perceived as a rejection than if it is perceived as a choice. This effect happens because consumers are more likely to attribute another’s decision to product quality as opposed to personal preference, when consumers perceive another’s decision as a rejection than as a choice. The inference about quality versus personal preference in turn increases conformity. This research bridges the existing literatures on decision framing, social influence, and perceptions of quality and personal preference, and it offers important implications for marketers and influencers.

Keywords: framing effect; choice versus rejection; social influence; conformity; attribution; quality versus personal preference (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:oup:jconrs:v:50:y:2023:i:2:p:363-381.

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Journal of Consumer Research is currently edited by Bernd Schmitt, June Cotte, Markus Giesler, Andrew Stephen and Stacy Wood

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