Abstract Book of the 13th International Conference on Research in Behavioral and Social Sciences
Year: 2025
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Modulating Decoy Effect as a function of induced Empathy in Consumer Decision Making
Yashika Garg, Richa Nigam
ABSTRACT:
The decoy effect is a well-studied cognitive bias in consumer decision-making, where introducing an inferior option (a decoy) into a choice set makes one of the original but more expensive options (the target) appear more attractive compared to the decoy or the other competing option. Previous research has demonstrated the activation of the anterior insula as a common neural correlate during tasks involving the decoy effect or empathy. Given this, it was interesting for the current study to explore the potential facilitatory effects of empathy induction on the decoy effect. Specifically, it was hypothesized that participants in the empathy-induced group would be more likely to choose the target option over the competitor option in the presence of a decoy in comparison to a control group (without empathy induction). Results revealed significant group differences (N = 290, p = .008), with empathy induction increasing the likelihood of target option selection. Additionally, gender differences were also examined between these groups and within each group as a function of decoy success. This study is the first to demonstrate with evidence, the facilitatory effect of empathy induction on the decoy effect. A deeper understanding of this relationship offers marketers a powerful tool to amplify their decoy strategies by integrating empathy-inducing elements into their campaigns for stronger consumer appeal.
Keywords: Decoy effect, Empathy induction, Consumer decision-making, Cognitive bias, Gender Differences