The Mere Categorization Effect: How the Presence of Categories Increases Choosers' Perceptions of Assortment Variety and Outcome Satisfaction

14 Pages Posted: 6 Aug 2008 Last revised: 27 Sep 2012

See all articles by Cassie Mogilner

Cassie Mogilner

University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) - Anderson School of Management

Tamar Rudnick

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Sheena S. Iyengar

Columbia Business School - Management Division

Date Written: August 1, 2008

Abstract

What is the effect of option categorization on choosers' satisfaction? A combination of field and laboratory experiments reveals that the mere presence of categories, irrespective of their content, positively influences the satisfaction of choosers who are unfamiliar with the choice domain. This "mere categorization effect" is driven by a greater number of categories signaling greater variety among the available options, which allows for a sense of self-determination from choosing. This effect, however, is attenuated for choosers who are familiar with the choice domain, who do not rely on the presence of categories to perceive the variety available.

Keywords: assortment size, variety, satisfaction, choice, categorization

Suggested Citation

Mogilner, Cassie and Rudnick, Tamar and Sethi-Iyengar, Sheena S., The Mere Categorization Effect: How the Presence of Categories Increases Choosers' Perceptions of Assortment Variety and Outcome Satisfaction (August 1, 2008). Journal of Consumer Research, Vol. 35, No. 2, 2008, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1205742

Cassie Mogilner (Contact Author)

University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) - Anderson School of Management ( email )

110 Westwood Plaza
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1481
United States

Tamar Rudnick

affiliation not provided to SSRN ( email )

Sheena S. Sethi-Iyengar

Columbia Business School - Management Division ( email )

3022 Broadway
New York, NY 10027
United States

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