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  • 2022
  • Working Paper
  • HBS Working Paper Series

A Preference for Revision Absent Objective Improvement

By: Ximena Garcia-Rada, Leslie K. John, Ed O’Brien and Michael I. Norton
  • Format:Print
  • | Language:English
  • | Pages:53
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Abstract

From downloading never-ending updates to tracking ever-newer releases, consumers today are surrounded by revised offerings that purport to have improved upon what was previously available. Although revising things often makes them better, the current research reveals that merely being told that a product has been revised makes consumers think it is better, even absent objective improvement. Eleven studies document this effect and its psychological underpinnings. Study 1 establishes the basic effect: Consumers are swayed to choose an inferior product when they think it is a revised version. Studies 2A-2C replicate this effect across many products and marketing contexts. Studies 3-6 show that this “revised-is-better” heuristic lowers consumers’ efforts to scrutinize a revised product, thus explaining the effect (Study 3), and therefore are especially susceptible to the effect under conditions that recruit intuitive judgment (Study 4, facing time pressure; Study 5, lacking diagnostic product information; Study 6, lacking product expertise). Studies 7A-7C extend this effect to naturalistic settings among students working to improve something they revise regularly: their resumes. Together, these findings bridge and advance consumer research on expectancy effects and product change, revealing when, why, and how consumers risk being deceived by the “new and improved.”

Keywords

Product Change; Versioning; Expectancy Effects; Heuristics; Intuitive Processing; Product Marketing; Change; Perception; Consumer Behavior

Citation

Garcia-Rada, Ximena, Leslie K. John, Ed O’Brien, and Michael I. Norton. "A Preference for Revision Absent Objective Improvement." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 19-087, February 2019. (Revised February 2022. Revise and resubmit, Journal of Marketing Research.)
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About The Authors

Leslie K. John

Negotiation, Organizations & Markets
→More Publications

Michael I. Norton

Negotiation, Organizations & Markets
→More Publications

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More from the Authors
  • Laughter on Call: Injecting Conversational Levity By: Alison Wood Brooks, Michael I. Norton and F Katelynn Boland
  • A Randomized Trial of Behavioral Nudges Delivered through Text Messages to Increase Influenza Vaccination among Patients with an Upcoming Primary Care Visit By: Mitesh S. Patel, Katherine L. Milkman, Linnea Gandhi, Heather N. Graci, Dena Gromet, Hung Ho, Joseph S. Kay, Timothy W. Lee, Jake Rothschild, Modupe Akinola, John Beshears, Jonathan E. Bogard, Alison Buttenheim, Christopher Chabris, Gretchen B. Chapman, James J. Choi, Hengchen Dai, Craig R. Fox, Amir Goren, Matthew D. Hilchey, Jillian Hmurovic, Leslie John, Dean Karlan, Melanie Kim, David Laibson, Cait Lamberton, Brigitte C. Madrian, Michelle N. Meyer, Maria Modanu, Jimin Nam, Todd Rogers, Renante Rondina, Silvia Saccardo, Maheen Shermohammed, Dilip Soman, Jehan Sparks, Caleb Warren, Megan Weber, Ron Berman, Chalanda N. Evans, Seung Hyeong Lee, Christopher K. Snider, Eli Tsukayama, Christophe Van den Bulte, Kevin G. Volpp and Angela L. Duckworth
  • Calculators for Women: When Identity-Based Appeals Backfire By: Tami Kim, Kate Barasz, Michael I. Norton and Leslie K. John
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