Time Horizon Effects on Product Evaluation Strategies

Abstract

Women's time horizons in evaluating product concepts (birth control devices) were varied experimentally. The variations produced changes in the linearity and complexity of the evaluation strategies used, and in the emphasis given to specific factors. Loss-averse and fairly complex evaluation strategies were used by women who made leisurely purchase intent judgments when consumption seemed imminent. Those who made hasty judgments were somewhat more loss-averse and used simpler evaluation strategies. Those who thought consumption was a distant event used simple evaluation strategies that were not loss-averse. The implications of these findings for modeling consumer choice strategies and for predicting choices on the basis of concept-evaluation studies are discussed.