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The effects of expectations on perception: experimental design issues and further evidence

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  • Tyler Williams
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    Abstract

    Numerous studies have found that top-down processes can affect perceptions. This study examines some of the issues involved in designing field experiments aimed at discovering whether top-down mental processes affect perceptions, and, if so, how the influence takes place. Lee, Frederick, and Ariely (2006) (LFA) attempt to go further by testing whether expectations affect perception directly, by altering how sensory receptors and/or the brain’s processing centers interpret a outside stimulus—or indirectly, for example, by changing the amount of attention paid to the outside stimulus. In order to test the robustness of the findings in LFA, this paper reports the results of a field experiment similar to the one analyzed in LFA. The field experiment, designed to address some potential confounding factors in this type of research, confirms that expectations can alter perceptions. However, it also shows that heterogeneity across individuals can play a role in determining the nature of this effect, a finding that complicates the interpretation of results such as those in LFA. To frame the analysis, this paper discusses the difficulties in designing this type of experiment, makes some improvements to existing designs, and suggests some ways of eliminating the confounding influences that remain.

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    Bibliographic Info

    Paper provided by Federal Reserve Bank of Boston in its series Working Papers with number 07-14.

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    Date of creation: 2007
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    Handle: RePEc:fip:fedbwp:07-14

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    Keywords: Uncertainty;

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

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    1. Petty, Richard E & Cacioppo, John T & Schumann, David, 1983. " Central and Peripheral Routes to Advertising Effectiveness: The Moderating Role of Involvement," Journal of Consumer Research, University of Chicago Press, vol. 10(2), pages 135-46, September.
    2. Amos Tversky & Daniel Kahneman, 1979. "Prospect Theory: An Analysis of Decision under Risk," Levine's Working Paper Archive 7656, David K. Levine.
    3. repec:aea:jeclit:v:43:y:2005:i:1:p:9-64 is not listed on IDEAS
    4. Wansink, Brian & Park, Sea Bum & Sonka, Steven T. & Morganosky, Michelle A., 2000. "How Soy Labeling Influences Preference And Taste," International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, International Food and Agribusiness Management Association (IAMA), vol. 3(01).
    5. Levin, Irwin P & Gaeth, Gary J, 1988. " How Consumers Are Affected by the Framing of Attribute Information before and after Consuming the Product," Journal of Consumer Research, University of Chicago Press, vol. 15(3), pages 374-78, December.
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