Brand effect on omission neglect: an experimental research

Abstract

Omission negligence is characterized by the lack of sensibility regarding unmentioned or unknown information. This phenomenon is very recurring, since it is not rare that a consumer has to make a decision supported by a judgment formulated from incomplete information. Prior research indicated that people often cannot identify the absence of important information, which results in strong convictions being formed based on little consistent evidence. The main purpose of this work is to comprehend brand effects on omission negligence. Three experiments were conducted, involving 769 undergraduate students of business administration. Empirical experiments support the understanding that individuals with a low contextual cognitive level (non-experts) are insensitive to attribute omission and are also extremely positive when completing evaluations, even when there is no apparent reason for that. Upon comparing the experiments' findings, it is understood that a recognized brand more incisively influences experts' evaluation than non-experts'. Even though experts anchor their judgments in a more strict evaluation of available attributes, a recognized brand has a strong influence on the object's general evaluation.

Downloads