Niteliğe dayalı değerlendirmede olumsuzluk yanilgisi ve çerçeveleme etkisi

This dissertation consists of four essays pertaining to consumer judgment and decision making. It explores the importance of the valence description of an attribute in the context of the attribute framing effect. Attribute framing effect is a well-known phenomenon which refers to the tendency to evaluate an attribute presented in positive terms more favorably than the same attribute presented in negative terms (Levin, Schneider and Gaeth 1998). Prior research on framing effects has consistently used the complementary type of attributes in order to manipulate attribute valence. The present dissertation defines complementary attributes in terms of two key aspects: (i) positivity or negativity of information is determined by different attribute labels (e.g., success vs. failure rates); and (ii) different attribute values induce the same performance level when defined with different labels in positive and negative frames (e.g., 90% success rate vs. 10% failure rate). According to the conceptualization of the present dissertation, such a complementary structure of framed attributes results in three important impacts on evaluations, each of which is explored in a separate chapter: (i) inference effect (Essay 1), (ii) number polarization (Essay 2), and (iii) reverse-associations (Essay 3). The final chapter (Essay 4) concludes with the implication of valence framing on non-complementary attributes. Attribute framing effects rely on the fact that positively (vs. negatively) framed attributes carry positive (vs. negative) information. However, the main premise in Essay 1 is that an attribute frame may not convey either positive or negative information due to the v complementary structure of framed attributes. In fact, attribute frames can evoke positivity and negativity, simultaneously. When confronted with a positively framed attribute, decision makers not only make evaluations based on the given positively framed attribute, but also infer the negatively framed attribute, which has not been supplied. Essay 1 examines the validity of such an inference proposition and its consequences in the domain of attribute framing. Findings reveal that assessing positive and negative associations together lead to a significant negative impact on evaluations. According to the prominent explanation for attribute framing effects, when confronted with a positively framed attribute, triggered affective associations are more favorable than when confronted with a negatively framed attribute (e.g., Levin and Gaeth 1988; Levin, Schneider and Gaeth 1998). In an attempt to understand the role of attribute values in framing effects, Essay 2 and 3 advance alternative explanations that account for the impact of numbers and that builds on the premise that numbers can change attribute framing effects. Essay 2 reveals that numbers may influence the amount/strength of associations; consequently, the framing effect increases when more/stronger associations are triggered. Essay 3 shows that numbers may affect the valence of triggered associations—the framing effect may decrease significantly, even reversing in some instances. Essay 4 discusses the generalization of framing effects to the non-complementary type of attributes, i.e., when the effects of inference and numbers on the framing effect have been eliminated. Findings indicate that framing effects are not limited to complementary type of attributes, rather non-complementary attributes are also susceptible to attribute framing. Moreover, framing effect is more prominent in terms of inherently positive attributes (e.g., food quality) as opposed to inherently negative attributes (e.g., commuting distance). Also, attributes with more ambiguous value ranges (e.g., noise level of a vacuum cleaner) lead to stronger framing effects as compared to more definite value ranges (e.g., commuting time). vi The findings of the current investigation provide important implications for product positioning, product labeling, and advertising messages.