The Mere Categorization Effect: How the Presence of Categories Increases Choosers' Perceptions of Assortment Variety

Cassie Mogilner (), Tamar Rudnick () and Sheena Iyengar ()
Additional contact information
Cassie Mogilner: Stanford University
Tamar Rudnick: Columbia University
Sheena Iyengar: Columbia University

No 70, Economics Working Papers from Institute for Advanced Study, School of Social Science

Abstract: What is the effect of option categorization on choosers’ satisfaction? A combination of field and laboratory experiments reveals that the mere presence of categories, irrespective of their content, positively influences the satisfaction of choosers who are unfamiliar with the choice domain. This “mere categorization effect” is driven by a greater number of categories signaling greater variety amongst the available options, which allows for a sense of self-determination from choice. This effect, however, is attenuated among choosers who are familiar with the choice domain, who do not rely on the presence of categories to perceive the variety available.

Pages: 48 pages
Date: 2008-04
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-evo, nep-exp and nep-upt
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