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The Effects of Depletion, Need for Cognitive Closure, and Attribute Accessibility on Choice Deferral

Guo, Xiaoning

Abstract Details

2012, PhD, University of Cincinnati, Business: Business Administration.
Consumers often face a choice among options described by differing amounts of information. In such situations, consumers may defer choice to avoid the uncertainty induced by missing information. In our study, we investigated the boundary conditions under which the tendency to defer choice can be reduced. In particular, we identified depletion, need for cognitive closure, and attribute accessibility as key situational factors related to the role of missing attribute information on choice deferral. We conducted three experiments that show that when the need for cognitive closure is high, depleted (vs. non-depleted) individuals are more likely to defer choice when attribute-accessibility is high. However, when the need for cognitive closure is low, depleted (vs. non-depleted) individuals are more likely to defer choice when attribute-accessibility is low. Furthermore, spontaneous inference and perceived uncertainty mediate the depletion effect, such that spontaneous inference reduces perceived uncertainty and this decreases the likelihood of choice deferral. Finally, depleted individuals are more sensitive to the status quo when the need for cognitive closure is low, while non-depleted individuals are more sensitive to the status quo when the need for cognitive closure is high. Implications of the results for understanding choice deferral are discussed.
Frank Kardes, PhD (Committee Chair)
Inigo Arroniz, PhD (Committee Member)
Chung-Yiu Chiu, PhD (Committee Member)
108 p.

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Guo, X. (2012). The Effects of Depletion, Need for Cognitive Closure, and Attribute Accessibility on Choice Deferral [Doctoral dissertation, University of Cincinnati]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1337289296

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Guo, Xiaoning. The Effects of Depletion, Need for Cognitive Closure, and Attribute Accessibility on Choice Deferral. 2012. University of Cincinnati, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1337289296.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Guo, Xiaoning. "The Effects of Depletion, Need for Cognitive Closure, and Attribute Accessibility on Choice Deferral." Doctoral dissertation, University of Cincinnati, 2012. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1337289296

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)