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 which are easy to evaluate rather than by those which are important." Hypothesized causes Theoretical causes of the less-is-better effect include: counterfactual thinking - A study found that bronze medalists are happier than silver medalists, apparently because silver invites comparison to gold whereas bronze invites comparison to not receiving a medal. evaluability heuristic and/or fluency heuristic - Hsee hypothesized that subjects evaluated proposals more highly based on attributes which were easier to evaluate (attribute substitution). Another study found that students preferred funny versus artistic posters according to attributes they could verbalize easily, but the preference was reversed when they did not need to explain a reason (see also introspection illusion). representativeness heuristic or judgment by prototype - People judge things according to average of a set more easily than size, a component of extension neglect. If a manufacturer has developed two versions of a product and wishes to know which will be more popular with consumers and should therefore be put on the market, presenting them jointly to the public will enable consumers to evaluate differences between them , while presenting them separately will better predict the consumer's actual experience of the product when and if it is actually put on sale .
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." Hypothesized causes Theoretical causes of the less-is-better effect include: counterfactual thinking - A study found that bronze medalists are happier than silver medalists, apparently because silver invites comparison to gold whereas bronze invites comparison to not receiving a medal. evaluability heuristic and/or fluency heuristic - Hsee hypothesized that subjects evaluated proposals more highly based on attributes that were easier to evaluate (attribute substitution). Another study found that students preferred funny versus artistic posters according to attributes they could verbalize easily, but the preference was reversed when they did not need to explain a reason (see also introspection illusion). representativeness heuristic or judgment by prototype - People judge things according to average of a set more easily than size, a component of extension neglect. A manufacturer may develop two versions of a product and want to know which consumers will prefer. Presenting both to the public lets consumers evaluate differences between them — while presenting them separately better predicts the consumer's actual experience of the product .
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