JournalOfConsumerResearch

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  • Journal finds that consumers prefer vague product specs to utter ignorance

    by 
    Joseph L. Flatley
    Joseph L. Flatley
    12.15.2008

    A new study in the Journal of Consumer Research has confirmed something we suspected all along: consumers love specs, even vague ones, and when deciding between two products people will gravitate towards the one for which more specifications were given. According to the journal, the research sheds light on both how preferences are formed in theory, and on how marketers can sell you more crapgadgets and KIRFs. Of course, if you've begun your holiday shopping only to find yourself frightened and confused by all of the meaningless data floating around, you might want to take a peek at our Holiday Gift Guide. One hundred percent of Engadget editors agree that it's the best Holiday Gift Guide on the site, this year.[Via Physorg]Read - The Blissful Ignorance Effect: Pre- versus Post-action Effects on Outcome Expectancies Arising from Precise and Vague Information (Warning: subscription required)