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  • August 2016
  • Article
  • Journal of Marketing Research (JMR)

The Role of (Dis)similarity in (Mis)predicting Others' Preferences

By: Kate Barasz, Tami Kim and Leslie K. John
  • Format:Print
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Abstract

Consumers readily indicate liking options that appear dissimilar—for example, enjoying both rustic lake vacations and chic city vacations or liking both scholarly documentary films and action-packed thrillers. However, when predicting other consumers’ tastes for the same items, people believe that a preference for one precludes enjoyment of the dissimilar other. Five studies show that people sensibly expect others to like similar products but erroneously expect others to dislike dissimilar ones (Studies 1 and 2). While people readily select dissimilar items for themselves (particularly if the dissimilar item is of higher quality than a similar one), they fail to predict this choice for others (Studies 3 and 4)—even when monetary rewards are at stake (Study 3). The tendency to infer dislike from dissimilarity is driven by a belief that others have a narrow and homogeneous range of preferences (Study 5).

Keywords

Perceived Similarity; Prediction Error; Preference Prediction; Self-other Difference; Social Inference; Cognition And Thinking; Perception; Forecasting And Prediction

Citation

Barasz, Kate, Tami Kim, and Leslie K. John. "The Role of (Dis)similarity in (Mis)predicting Others' Preferences." Journal of Marketing Research (JMR) 53, no. 4 (August 2016): 597–607.
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About The Author

Leslie K. John

Negotiation, Organizations & Markets
→More Publications

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    Lifting the Veil: The Benefits of Cost Transparency

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More from the Authors
  • Lifting the Veil: The Benefits of Cost Transparency By: Bhavya Mohan, Ryan W. Buell and Leslie K. John
  • Inequality in Socially Permissible Consumption By: Serena Hagerty and Kate Barasz
  • Time Out: The Evolution from Media to Markets By: Kate Barasz and Eva Ascarza
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