数字效应对消费者行为的影响及其心理机制

经济学理性人假说判定, 个体对同一个事物的认知和需求不会随事物表征方式以及个体信息处理方式的改变而改变。同时, 消费者旨在运用最低成本获得最大收益, 实现经济效用最大化。然而消费者行为领域的学者对此提出了相反的主张。他们指出, 当个体解读刺激物数量化属性时, 不仅会对用不同数字和单位表征的同一数量判断出现偏差, 还会受到数字启动的影响, 对用不同数字表示的同一商品产生不同的需求, 甚至做出违反经济效用最大化的决策, 产生了数字效应。不同的心理机制对数字效应如何导致消费者非理性行为进行了解释。在此基础上, 对数字效应在消费者行为领域的未来研究方向进行了展望。

The numerosity effects in consumer behavior

Economists believe that individuals are absolutely rational when making decisions, that is, individuals’ preference remains consistent no matter how a specific entity is represented. Moreover, individuals tend to choose the most profitable option to maximize their utility. However, findings in the domain of consumer behavior reveal that the representation of numbers can trigger individuals’ irrationality and thereby affect their subsequent consumption decision and judgment. Individuals exhibit cognitive biases facing numerical representations in general and quantitative expressions in particular. Moreover, when numerosity effect is activated, individuals are more likely to trade off the utility maximization principle and make an irrational consumption decision. The current research therefore reviews how and why these numerosity effects bias consumers’ cognition, judgment, metaphorical association, information processing, and goal pursuit. Directions for future research in numerosity effect are also discussed.