Title: Less-is-better effect - Wikipedia
Headings: Less-is-better effect
Less-is-better effect
Contents
Identifying the effect
Other studies
General observations
Limitations
Hypothesized causes
Applications
See also
Notes
References

Content: Less-is-better effect - Wikipedia
Less-is-better effect
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Not to be confused with less-is-more effect. The less-is-better effect is a type of preference reversal that occurs when the lesser or smaller alternative of a proposition is preferred when evaluated separately, but not evaluated together. The term was first proposed by Christopher Hsee. Contents
1 Identifying the effect
2 Other studies
3 General observations
4 Limitations
5 Hypothesized causes
6 Applications
7 See also
8 Notes
9 References
Identifying the effect
In a 1998 study, Hsee, a professor at the Graduate School of Business of The University of Chicago, discovered a less-is-better effect in three contexts: " ( 1) a person giving a $45 scarf (from scarves ranging from $5-$50) as a gift was perceived to be more generous than one giving a $55 coat (from coats ranging from $50-$500); ( 2) an overfilled ice cream serving with 7 oz of ice cream was valued more than an underfilled serving with 8 oz of ice cream; ( 3) a dinnerware set with 24 intact pieces was judged more favourably than one with 31 intact pieces (including the same 24) plus a few broken ones." Hsee noted that the less-is-better effect was observed "only when the options were evaluated separately, and reversed itself when the options were juxtaposed.” Hsee explained these seemingly counterintuitive results “in terms of the evaluability hypothesis, which states that separate evaluations of objects are often influenced by attributes that are easy to evaluate rather than by those that are important." Other studies

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