The decoy effect, also known as asymmetric dominance, is a change in preference between two options caused by the addition of a third, inferior "decoy" option that is clearly worse than one of the original two but not directly comparable to the other. Adding the decoy makes the option it is inferior to appear more attractive by comparison, increasing the share of people who choose that option even though the decoy itself is rarely chosen. The effect has been demonstrated experimentally across choices including consumer products and subscription pricing tiers, and it is frequently cited in marketing and pricing research as a tool for steering consumer choice toward a particular option.
Facts
Core ClaimAdding an inferior third option that only partly competes with two existing options shifts choice toward whichever of the two dominates the decoy. 1 First Described Year Classification
Type of Phenomenon Connections
In Branch
Source Wikipedia: Decoy Effect
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Decoy Effect
WikipediaLead paragraph, REST summary extract, revision 1354824205
In marketing, the decoy effect is a phenomenon in consumer decision-making in which the inclusion of unattractive third option can change the perceived preference between the other two.
References list, Huber Payne Puto citation (year=1982)
Adding Asymmetrically Dominated Alternatives: Violations of Regularity and the Similarity Hypothesis
lead section, phenomenon-kind classification
In marketing, the decoy effect (or attraction effect or asymmetric dominance effect) is a phenomenon in consumer decision-making in which the inclusion of unattractive third option can change the perceived preference between the other two.
In Branch: Consumer Psychology, Categories
Wikipedia article 'Decoy effect' is filed under Category:Consumer behaviour.
View the Source Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.