A formula for Expectation Bias ?

[AdamG]

If Expectation Bias EB = f(P,R,A,E)

where

P is Price
R is number of positive subjective reviews
A is Aesthetics (which may include weight, exotic materials, design)
E is Emotional status of purchaser

1. Which variables are missing in f( )
2. What scaling should be assigned to each
3. Is this linear and additive or are some terms non-linear?
4. How would we normalise this into a scale

Discuss.

You may have forgotten the age old rule of Supply and Demand component. The harder it is to obtain a thing can make it that much more appealing.

 

[Pareto Pragmatic]

By this I meant - is the purchase a fix for something else going on in the buyer’s world. Sometimes we buy stuff so we feel
Better and therefore maybe we need it to sound better !

I think you want to consider how to keep the model from being about cognitive dissonance, and keep it focused on expectation bias. Buying something will trigger the cognitive dissonance process in ways just listening will not.

 

[Palladium]

What I learned in life is the adage of "you get will you pay for" mainly marketing BS.

 

[DonR]

What if one doesn’t know the price, did not read the reviews, and doesn’t really know what particular piece of equipment is being auditioned?

I would assume for this formula to be functional, all parameters need to be known.

 

[CapMan]

You may have forgotten the age old rule of Supply and Demand component. The harder it is to obtain a thing can make it that much more appealing.

We will add U for rarity appeal -
Uniqueness

 

[DonR]

We will add U for rarity appeal -
Uniqueness

It probably also has some correlation with price and aesthetics.

 

[wwenze]

Not really. If you expect the difference, you still more likely to hear it even if there’s none.

This is why the gold standard is double-blind i.e. ABX. Even if bias makes you hear the difference, the resulting result will tell you whether your difference is heard only on one product or spread out 50-50 on both products i.e. luck

 

[GGroch]

If Expectation Bias EB = f(P,R,A,E)

where

P is Price
R is number of positive subjective reviews
A is Aesthetics (which may include weight, exotic materials, design)
E is Emotional status of purchaser

I suggest another variable: Story

S is Story - Sometimes they are Tech Stories: Every package of Monster Cable had tech stories with diagrams printed on the back. Magnetic Flux Tubes, Signal Direction Arrows, Skin Effect - lots of technical stuff that may or may not have any real basis. Also Biographical/Brand Stories: about the the genius founder inventor, company history and passion. Finally stories about others who tried the product: "My Wife, who was cleaning upstairs, sudden drops the vacuum and says Wow, what have you done to your system!"

Speakers used to be the most profitable large items in stereo stores. Klipsch was a salesperson favorite because great tech story (compression horns), Great Founder Story (Crazy Eccentric Paul Klipsch), and lots of positive owner feedback.