THE INFLUENCE OF MEMORY FACTORS ON CONTRACEPTIVE INFORMATION ACQUISITION AND CHOICE

WAYNE DAVID HOYER, Purdue University

Abstract

Much of the research on consumer information acquisition and choice processes has devoted little attention to the important role of memory factors. The present investigation represents an attempt to bridge this gap by examining the influence of memory on the information search and integration process in the context of contraceptive usage decision making. Specifically, the content of memory was assessed using a free elicitation procedure. Measures of belief strength and evaluations of beliefs were then acquired in order to compute various measures of cognitive structure. These included: (1)differentiation--the number of beliefs recalled regarding the options; (2)intensity--how strongly the beliefs were held; (3)consistency--the extent to which the beliefs were largely positively or largely negatively evaluated; (4)total amount of affect--the degree of affect surrounding an option; and (5)attitude--the overall evaluation of an option. These cognitive structure indices were then employed to predict information search. The key finding of the present investigation was that cognitive structure indices were effective in predicting information search behavior to only a limited degree. The intensity, total amount of affect, and differentiation indices provided the most promising results in predicting search. However, this predictability occured only at the level of individual-specific options. That is, the greater the differentiation, intensity, and total affect toward a particular option, the more likely the individual was to search for additional information regarding that option. Second, it appears that there are systematic individual differences between those individuals whose search is predicted well by these indices and those for whom the indices do not predict well. Third, there existed a moderate tendency for less search to occur when attitude discrimination among the alternatives was high. Finally, predictions of choice based on a compensatory model were disappointing. One reason for this result centered on the fact that a number of subjects selected the pill even though it was not the most positively evaluated alternative. The implications of these findings both for consumer and contraceptive decision making were then discussed.

Degree

Ph.D.

Subject Area

Social psychology

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