IMPACT OF CONSUMERS CONFIDENCE IN JUDGMENTS ABOUT MISSING INFORMATION ON PRODUCT EVALUATIONS

This study tested three alternative models of inference process which can explain negative mean shifts of product evaluations due to incomplete information. The experimental results provide support for the Jaccard and Wood (Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 54 (4, 1988): 580-591) model for both the positive and negative inference conditions. The findings show that the level of an inferred attribute and consumers' confidence in the inferred attribute have a significant impact on the magnitude of the mean shifts. Also found is the effect of consumers', familiarity with product class on the confidence in the inferred attribute.