Sequential Choice in Group Settings: Taking the Road Less Traveled and Less Enjoyed

Citation: Dan Ariely, Jonathan Levav (2000) Sequential Choice in Group Settings: Taking the Road Less Traveled and Less Enjoyed. Journal of Consumer Research (RSS)
DOI (original publisher): 10.1086/317585
Semantic Scholar (metadata): 10.1086/317585
Sci-Hub (fulltext): 10.1086/317585
Internet Archive Scholar (search for fulltext): Sequential Choice in Group Settings: Taking the Road Less Traveled and Less Enjoyed
Download: http://www.jstor.org.proxy.library.georgetown.edu/stable/10.1086/317585
Tagged: Consumer Behavior (RSS), Consumer Research (RSS)

Summary

This paper examines the impact of individual choices being made in a group setting on individual satisfaction. The authors seek to answer the question, "Do choices differ when made sequentially in a group context?". The authors then delve into the goals that may cause individuals to make choices differ from what they would have made in other decision settings.

Two goal classes are laid out: individual-alone goals and individual-group goals. Individual-alone goals related to satisfying one's own taste while individual-group goals related to the desire to portray oneself as interesting and unique. The authors hypothesize that consumers resolve the conflict between these two goal classes by going through a goal balancing process, in which they weight the importance of each goal class, and decide on a choice that reflects a trade-off and implicit acceptance or rejection of the constraints the goal classes impose. At the group level, goal balancing can lead to two outcomes: group uniformity and group variety seeking. Group uniformity occurs when there is a tendency for individuals to settle on the same alternative. On the flip side, group variety seeking is a tendency to include varied alternatives.

The authors further break the two goal classes down into four goal types: 1) Satisfying one's tastes (individual-alone) 2) Minimizing regret and avoiding losses (individual-group) 3) Information gathering (individual-group) and 4) Self presentation (individual-group). Three studies are undertaken in an effort to uncover the outcomes of goal balancing and and the reasons that may underlie it.

Study 1, the lunch study, tested for the influence of group context on individual decisions in a natural setting. The authors collected lunch order slips from a popular Chinese restaurant and analyzed the order codes of all tables of two more diners. They calculated a Variety Index, which was designed to equal 0 when all the dishes at the table were identical and 1 when all the dishes at the table were different. The results of Study 1 indicate that the group context has a strong and significant influence on individual decision making, meaning that individual-group goals constrain choice such that fulfillment of taste satisfaction is limited. Results also suggest that the outcome of the group contingency is to increase variety in choices at the group level.

Study 2, the beer study, tested whether goals other than individual taste satisfaction, could determine choices made in a group setting. The authors handed out samples of beer at a microbrewery and assigned tables to be either Independent or Collective. The Independent tables subjects made their selection without knowing the choices of others' at their table, whereas the Collective were aware of others' choices. Results indicated that variety seeking was notably higher in the Collective group than the Independent group. Subjects in the Collective group were also more likely to regret their choice than subjects in the Independent group. Results also indicated that mean satisfaction ratings in the Collective groups were higher for the first customer in the sequence that the following members at the table.

Study 3, the wine study, attempted to understand whether self presentation and/or a need for uniqueness were significant factors in goal balancing. Two groups of students were given a list of 4 wines to sample; one group was asked to pick a glass from the list they had already sampled and the other group was asked to pick a glass from the list they had not sampled. Results proved results from the earlier studies - indicating that group context causes increased group level variety at the expense of personal dissatisfaction and regret. Results also indicate that the need for uniqueness has a relatively stronger effect on sequential variety than informational gathering.

Theoretical and Practical Relevance

Consumers are more likely to maximize their enjoyment from consumption if they stick to their initial decisions without being swayed by other choices made by the group, or by ordering first.