The Mere Categorization Effect

The Mere Categorization Effect: How the
Presence of Categories Increases Choosers’
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Perceptions of Assortment Variety and
Outcome Satisfaction
CASSIE MOGILNER
TAMAR RUDNICK
SHEENA S. IYENGAR*
What is the effect of option categorization on choosers’ satisfaction? A combination

of field and laboratory experiments reveals that the mere presence of categories,
irrespective of their content, positively influences the satisfaction of choosers who
are unfamiliar with the choice domain. This “mere categorization effect” is driven
by a greater number of categories signaling greater variety among the available
options, which allows for a sense of self-determination from choosing. This effect,
however, is attenuated for choosers who are familiar with the choice domain, who
do not rely on the presence of categories to perceive the variety available.
I magine shoppers browsing the magazine rack in a su-

permarket. They study rows upon rows of glossy pages,
colorful pictures, and splashy headlines. They wander the
categories affect their satisfaction with their magazine
selections?
We sought answers to these questions by observing cus-
aisle among hundreds of publications grouped under dif- tomers as they shopped the magazine aisles of a northeastern
ferent category headings. Picture the magazines on the rack: supermarket chain. The 10 branches of the chain where we
Under “Fashion” there is the ultrathick issue of Vogue. Un- conducted our observations varied in the number of mag-
der “Current Events” there is a copy of Newsweek. Under azine options (331–664, M p 575) and the number of mag-
“Music” there is the most recent Rolling Stone. Watch the azine categories (18–26, M p 23), which were unrelated
shoppers pick magazines from a set of hundreds. Did the (r(10) p ⫺.26, NS). Although each of the store displays
category labels—“Fashion,” “Current Events,” “Music”— identified such categories as “Fashion and Beauty,” “Health
influence the shoppers’ choices? Did the very presence of and Fitness,” and “Entertainment,” the retailer had flexibil-
ity in deciding whether to further categorize the display to
include such categories as “Women’s General Interest,”
*Cassie Mogilner is a marketing PhD candidate at Stanford University,
Graduate School of Business, 518 Memorial Way, Stanford, CA 94305
“Sports,” and “Music.” We observed 391 shoppers as they
([email protected]). Tamar Rudnick is a research assistant exited the magazine aisle (50% women, age range 30–50
at the Graduate School of Business, Columbia University, New York, NY years) and asked them to participate in a short survey.
10027 ([email protected]). Sheena Iyengar is a professor of man- Shoppers reported on a 100-point scale their perceptions
agement at the Graduate School of Business, Columbia University, 3022
Broadway, 714 Uris Hall, New York, NY 10027 ([email protected]).
of the variety offered by the magazine selection and their
The authors would like to thank the National Science Foundation and Time levels of satisfaction with their shopping experience. The
Distribution Services for contributing the funds and resources supporting results showed that while the actual number of magazine
the studies reported in this investigation. Baba Shiv and Jennifer Aaker options had little impact (b p .04, t p .66, NS), the num-
are thanked for their generous feedback during the various stages of this
article’s development. Additionally, the authors would like to thank Cristy ber of categories used to partition the display positively in-
Rasco, John Remarek, and Snowden Wright for their invaluable research fluenced perceptions of variety (b p .18, t p 3.44, p p
assistance. .001), which in turn led to greater customer satisfaction
(b p .49, t p 11.00, p ! .001).
John Deighton served as editor and Stephen Nowlis served as associate
editor for this article. Expanding on the observations from our exploratory field
Electronically published June 11, 2008
study, the following investigation more closely examines
the relationship between the presence of categories and con-
202
䉷 2008 by JOURNAL OF CONSUMER RESEARCH, Inc. ● Vol. 35 ● August 2008

All rights reserved. 0093-5301/2008/3502-0002$10.00. DOI: 10.1086/588698
MERE CATEGORIZATION EFFECT 203
sumers’ subjective experiences of choosing. In particular, likely lead consumers to infer differences between the avail-
the studies reported in this investigation examine the effect able options. Instances have even been documented where
of mere categorization, in terms of the number and content consumers inferred meaning from marketers’ inclusion of
of category labels, on chooser satisfaction. In a series of meaningless information. In particular, consumers were
two experiments conducted in the choice domains of mag- found to infer brand value from marketers’ mere mention
azines and gourmet coffee, we show that the mere presence of a brand attribute, even though the attribute was known
of a greater number of categories leads to increased chooser to be meaningless (Carpenter, Glazer, and Nakamoto 1994).
satisfaction, irrespective of the information contained in the Similarly, we propose that the presence of categories might
category labels. This “mere categorization effect” occurs by serve as a cue that signals differences between options to
increasing choosers’ perceptions of variety, which increases consumers, even when the actual options and their differ-
their feelings of self-determination. In addition to the im- ences remain constant. The more categories articulated to
plications for retailers, this research also pertains to extant consumers, the greater variety they may perceive.
work on perceived variety (e.g., Broniarczyk, Hoyer, and This proposed role of categories is that of a perceptual
McAlister 1998; Hoch, Bradlow, and Wansink 1999; Kahn cue rather than an information-based cognitive process. Prior
and Wansink 2004) and assortment size (e.g., Chernev research suggests that the informational content of category
2003b; Iyengar and Lepper 2000). Next we develop our labels can facilitate preference identification (Alba et al.
conceptual model and hypotheses. 1991; Bettman 1979; Chakravarti and Janiszewski 2003;
Howard and Sheth 1969; Huber and Kline 1991; Johnson
and Payne 1985; Nedungadi 1990; Ratneshwar and Shocker
THE PSYCHOLOGY OF MERE 1991; Roberts and Lattin 1991; Rosen 1978). We propose
CATEGORIZATION that category labels alone, irrespective of whether they are
informative, will signal to consumers differences between
Although our exploratory field study suggests that a the options.
greater number of categories leads to higher customer sat- Prior research suggests that individuals are more willing
isfaction, the reasons for the effect remain in question. Pre- to choose among seemingly distinct options but are less
vious research has shown that the content of category labels likely to choose when the differences between the available
can inform choosers about the attributes of the items grouped
options are minimal (Dhar 1997). Choosers avoid relatively
under each heading (Alba, Hutchinson, and Lynch 1991;
homogenous choice sets in order to not undergo the conflict
Bettman 1979; Howard and Sheth 1969; Huber and Kline
of choosing among indistinguishable options for which the
1991; Johnson and Payne 1985; Nedungadi 1990; Roberts
trade-offs are unclear (Festinger 1964; Tversky and Shafir
and Lattin 1991). The categorization of options may there-
1992). The inability to perceive differences among the avail-
fore help choosers refine their set of options (Chakravarti
and Janiszewski 2003; Diehl, Kornish, and Lynch 2003; able options may therefore thwart individuals’ feelings of
Ratneshwar and Shocker 1991; Rosen 1978; Zhang and Fitz- control from choosing, and it is this decreased sense of self-
simons 1999). Indeed, Diehl et al. (2003) found that choos- determination that results in lower satisfaction. The choosing
ers who had access to a screening device that rank ordered experience can give individuals a sense of autonomy only
a subset of the available options made better-quality choices. if it fosters “people’s choicefulness or volition” (Ryan and
If categories benefit choosers by directing them to their Deci 2006, 1576). Thus, an assortment of seemingly similar
preferred option within an assortment, then the positive ef- options would decrease individuals’ perceived ability to act
fect of categories we observed on supermarket customers’ in accordance with their values and interests, detracting from
satisfaction would require the labels articulating those cat- their enjoyment of the outcome (Deci and Ryan 1985; Ryan
egories to be informative. and Deci 2000).
Perhaps the mere presence of categories also communi- This may help explain consumers’ attraction to exten-
cates something to affect choosers’ satisfaction. It has been sively varied assortments. As a potential source for feelings
shown that categories serve to identify differences between of self-determination, assortments that offer extensive va-
items (Heit and Rubinstein 1994; Lassaline 1996; Rosch riety have been found to draw greater in-store traffic, to
2002; Sloutsky 2003) and that the processing of categories offer between-store advantage, and to increase the quantity
operates at a very basic level (Rosch 1976). Research in of products consumed (Broniarczyk et al. 1998; Hoch et al.
linguistics demonstrates that items represented by words 1999; Iyengar and Lepper 2000; Kahn and Wansink 2004).
with different classifiers are perceived to be more dissimilar Consumers’ perceptions of variety, however, are not nec-
than those same items represented by words with the same essarily contingent on the actual number of options present.
classifier (Schmitt and Zhang 1998). According to the prin- By manipulating display features (such as shelf space and
ciple that people assume information is conveyed in every messiness) and by featuring popular options, marketers can
act of communication (Clark 1985; Grice 1975), options appeal to consumers’ desire for variety without actually of-
grouped under the same category label are likely to be per- fering more options (Broniarczyk et al. 1998; Hoch et al.
ceived as more similar, whereas options grouped under dif- 1999; Kahn and Wansink 2004). This suggests that a display
ferent category labels are likely to be perceived as more cue such as categories might also increase choosers’ per-
different. The presentation of categories, therefore, will ceptions of variety and their subsequent satisfaction.
204 JOURNAL OF CONSUMER RESEARCH
Yet the benefits gained from categories may not be ex- nation experienced when choosing from a seemingly varied
perienced equally by every chooser. For choosers familiar assortment.
enough with the choice domain to possess established pref-
erences, whom we will call “preference matchers,” the pro- EXPERIMENT 1: THE MAGAZINE STUDY
cess of choosing is both more directed (Russo and Leclerc
1994) and less cognitively burdensome (Chernev 2003a, Experiment 1 built on the categorization effect found in
2003b). For a preference matcher, choosing only entails ei- the preliminary field study by testing it in a controlled lab-
ther locating the item previously evaluated as most favorable oratory environment with the number and content of options
(Lingle and Ostrom 1979; Lynch, Marmorstein, and Weigold held constant. Participants in this experiment were randomly
1988; Wright 1975) or identifying the item that best matches assigned to one of four conditions in the 2 (chooser type:
one’s ideal attribute combination (Coupey, Irwin, and Payne preference matcher vs. preference constructor) # 2 (cate-
1998; Hauser and Wernerfelt 1990). Preference matchers’ gorization: three categories vs. 18 categories) between-sub-
familiarity with the choice domain expedites their differ- jects design.
entiation between options (Alba and Hutchinson 1987), al-
lowing them to perceive variety within an assortment with- Method
out the aid of a display cue. Therefore, preference matchers
perceive the variety offered in a choice set to be independent Participants. Sixty-one students from Columbia Uni-
of the choice set’s categorization. They can choose without versity responded to fliers posted around campus offering
a display cue and still be happy with their choice. $10 as compensation for their participation in a 30-minute
In contrast, consumers in unfamiliar choice domains, marketing research study. The group of participants com-
whom we will call “preference constructors,” have yet to prised approximately equal numbers of men (48%) and
identify their preferred attribute combinations. They face women (52%) who ranged in age from 18 to 48 years
the task of forming their preferences during the choosing (M p 22 years). Participants represented a variety of ethnic
process (Bettman, Luce, and Payne 1998; Carpenter and backgrounds, including white (49%), Asian (22%), African
Nakamoto 1989). With limited knowledge of the choice set, American (12%), Latino (10%), and others (7%).
preference constructors rely on information found in the
choice environment to determine their preferences, which Magazine Display. The experiment was conducted in
makes display cues highly influential (Dodd, Pinkleton, and a university laboratory designed to simulate a well-stocked
Gustafson 1996; Fischhoff 1991; Fischhoff, Slovic, and supermarket magazine aisle. One hundred and forty-four
Lichtenstein 1980; Hoch and Ha 1986; Hoeffler and Ariely different magazines were displayed on 9-by-12-foot mag-
1999; Levin and Gaeth 1988; Lynch, Chakravarti, and Mitra azine racks on two adjacent walls.
1991). We predict that preference constructors, who lack the To test the moderating role of choosers’ familiarity with
expertise to distinguish between the available options (Alba the choice domain, a pilot study was conducted to ensure
and Hutchinson 1987), will draw on the display cue of cat- that there was sufficient variability in students’ familiarity
egories to perceive the variety available and to garner sat- with the provided options. When asked to examine a list of
isfaction from choice. 77 magazines, the 34 pilot study participants each listed the
We hypothesize that only preference constructors will titles they were familiar with (which ranged from three to
gain satisfaction from the number of categories in a choice 28 magazines, M p 9.44). The participants marked 53% of
set, whereas preference matchers will not depend on cate- the magazines as being familiar (39% being one of three
gorization in order to experience the value of choice. More that they read regularly) and 47% as unfamiliar. Given this
formally: variation in familiarity, all 77 magazines were included in
the experiment’s display.
H1a: The number of categories will have a positive Two additional pilot studies were conducted to establish
effect on satisfaction for preference constructors categorical classifications that participants would consider
but not for preference matchers. both familiar and appealing. In the first pilot, 20 students
were asked to “list the first 10 magazine categories that come
H1b: For preference constructors, perceived variety to mind” and to allot one, two, and three points to their
will drive the positive effect of category number third, second, and first most preferred categories, respec-
on satisfaction. tively. Participants generated a total of 95 categories, in-
cluding the three broad categories of “Men’s,” “Women’s,”
Two experiments were conducted to test these hypoth- and “General Interest” (each of which received between one
eses. Experiment 1 examines both the influence of category and 18 points, M p 12) and 18 more specific categories
number on choosers’ satisfaction and the mediating role of (e.g., “Cooking,” “Auto,” and “Sports,” each of which re-
perceived variety, providing support for hypotheses 1a and ceived between one and 75 points, M p 20), which could
1b. Experiment 2 extends these findings by showing not be subsumed into the three broader categories.
only that the effect among preference constructors does not In the second pilot, 60 students were presented with the
require the content of the category labels to be informa- 30 magazine categories used by the supermarket chain in-
tive but also that it is driven by the sense of self-determi- vestigated in the preliminary field study and were instructed
to “rank order the top three magazine categories from which domly assigned to the preference constructor conditions
you are most likely to buy a magazine.” Participants’ rank- were instructed to “choose a magazine that you don’t reg-
ings confirmed that the most popular categories in this con- ularly read. You will then be asked to complete a survey
sumer context matched the categories generated in the pre- on this unfamiliar magazine.” In contrast, the instructions
vious pilot study. For instance, the supermarket magazine for participants who were assigned to the preference matcher
categories “Fashion,” “Sports,” “Music,” and “Computers” conditions continued, “Choose a magazine that you regu-
were among the highest-ranked, while “Men’s,” “Women’s,” larly read. You will then be asked to complete a survey on
and “General Interest” each received at least one top ranking. this familiar magazine.” A manipulation check confirmed
Results from these pilot studies helped us design the two that all preference constructors chose an unfamiliar maga-
conditions for the magazine display used in the experiment. zine and that all preference matchers chose a familiar
While all participants viewed the same magazine options, magazine.
the same number of magazines, and identical arrangements After receiving the instructions, the participants were left
of the magazines, the options were grouped into either three alone to peruse the magazine display. After 3 minutes (the
general categories or 18 more specific categories. In both average amount of time the supermarket customers spent in
conditions, 18 3-by-12-inch plaques displaying the category the magazine aisles in the field study), the experimenter re-
headings were attached to the racks under the third, sixth, entered the room and asked, “Have you chosen a magazine?
and ninth row shelves, following the supermarket magazine Bring your magazine, and you will complete a questionnaire
aisle model. In the three-category condition, each category in the next room.”
was represented by six plaques, whereas in the 18-category
condition, each of the category headings appeared only Chooser Satisfaction. To assess participants’ satisfac-
once. Figure 1 illustrates the magazine displays from both tion with their chosen magazines, they were asked to rate
conditions. on a 10-point scale (1 p not at all satisfied, 10 p
extremely satisfied), “How satisfied are you with your
Procedure. An experimenter led participants one at a choice?” Ancillary analyses revealed that satisfaction was
time into a room containing the magazine display and not significantly influenced by the number of magazines
prompted them to select a magazine, delivering the follow- perused, the amount of time required by participants to make
ing narrative: “We are running this study in conjunction with their selections, or the perusal style employed.
World Distributions, a large magazine distribution company.
They are interested in consumers’ magazine preferences. I Perceived Variety. Three items (with the third item
will give you a few minutes to look around and pick a reverse scored) were averaged to create an index of per-
magazine.” ceived variety (a p .76). Participants were asked on a 10-
The instructions then varied to manipulate participants’ point scale (1 p no choice at all, 10 p a lot of choice),
familiarity with their choice set. Participants who were ran- “How much choice do you feel you were offered in terms
FIGURE 1
MAGAZINE DISPLAYS
of the magazine selection?” Drawing from prior perceived- erence matchers (F(1, 57) p .95 , NS). See table 1 for means
variety research (Broniarczyk et al. 1998; Hoch et al. 1999; and standard deviations.
Kahn and Wansink 2004), we also asked participants on a The number of categories also affected choosers’ percep-
10-point scale (1 p very little variety, 10 p a lot of tions of variety, but only for preference constructors. A 2
variety), “How much variety do you think there was in the (chooser type) # 2 (number of categories) ANOVA was
magazine display?” Finally, participants were asked, “How conducted on perceived variety, revealing (1) no main effect
similar do you think all of the magazines in the display were for chooser type (F(1, 57) p .31, NS); (2) a significant main
to each other?” (1 p not at all similar, 10 p extremely effect for number of categories (F(1, 57) p 5.49, p ! .05),
similar). Ancillary analyses revealed that participants’ per- with 18 categories (M p 7.26) creating higher perceptions
ceptions of variety were not significantly influenced by the of variety than three categories (M p 6.29 ); and (3) a sig-
number of magazines perused, the amount of time required nificant interaction (F(1, 57) p 3.88, p p .05). Planned
by participants to make their selections, or the perusal style contrasts showed that while no differences were observed
employed. in preference matchers’ perceptions of variety between the
18-category condition (M p 6.76) and the three-category
condition (M p 6.60; F(1, 57) p .07, NS), preference con-
Results structors in the 18-category condition (M p 7.81) perceived
The number of categories into which the choice set was significantly more variety than did those in the three-cate-
divided affected choosers’ satisfaction with their selections, gory condition (M p 6.01; F(1, 57) p 9.41, p ! .01). Per-
but only for preference constructors (i.e., choosers charged ceived variety did not vary by chooser type in the three-
with the task of constructing their preferences while choos- category condition (F(1, 57) p 1.05, NS), and it did so only
ing). For preference matchers (i.e., choosers charged with marginally in the 18-category condition (F(1, 57) p 3.04,
the task of scanning the choice set to match their preexist- p ! .10).
ing preferences), the number of categories did not affect We predicted that the number of categories delineating
their satisfaction with their selections. A 2 (chooser type) an assortment would positively affect choosers’ satisfaction
# 2 (number of categories) ANOVA was conducted on by signaling the variety available. We further predicted that
chooser satisfaction, revealing (1) a significant main effect this effect would occur only among preference construc-
for chooser type (F(1, 57) p 11.44, p p .001), with pref- tors—those who rely on information in the choice display
erence matchers (M p 8.20) reporting greater satisfaction to identify their preferred options. Conversely, we predicted
than preference constructors (M p 6.77); (2) no main effect that preference matchers’ ability to perceive variance among
for number of categories (F(1, 57) p 1.72, NS); and (3) a the available options would be independent of the number
significant interaction (F(1, 57) p 3.90, p p .05). As hy- of categories present. To test this hypothesis (hypothesis 1b),
pothesized (hypothesis 1a), subsequent planned contrasts we conducted separate mediation analyses for preference
showed that the categorization effect occurred among pref- constructors and preference matchers. For preference con-
erence constructors but not among preference matchers, with structors, satisfaction was first regressed on the number of
preference constructors reporting significantly higher sat- categories (b p .34, t p 1.96, p ! .10). Next, perceived
isfaction in the 18-category condition (M p 7.50) than in variety was regressed on the number of categories (b p
the three-category condition (M p 6.18; F(1, 57) p 5.47, .46, t p 2.79, p ! .01), and then satisfaction was regressed
p ! .05). Preference matchers showed no differences in sat- on perceived variety (b p .60, t p 4.01, p ! .001). When
isfaction across category conditions (M3 p 8.33 vs. M18 p satisfaction was regressed on both the number of catego-
8.07, F(1, 57) p .22, NS). In the three-category condition, ries and perceived variety, the effect of category number
preference constructors were significantly less satisfied than (b p .09, t p .50, NS) significantly decreased, while the
preference matchers (F(1, 57) p 15.07, p ! .001); however, effect of perceived variety remained significant (b p .56,
in the 18-category condition, no differences in satisfaction t p 3.29, p ! .01; Sobel z p 2.26, p ! .05). This suggests
were observed between preference constructors and pref- that the effect of category number on preference construc-
TABLE 1
EXPERIMENT 1 RESULTS
Three categories Eighteen categories

Preference Preference Preference Preference
constructors matchers constructors matchers
Satisfaction 6.18a, b (2.21) 8.33b (1.23) 7.50a (1.34) 8.07 (1.10)

Perceived variety 6.01a (2.11) 6.60 (1.39) 7.81a (1.29) 6.76 (1.49)
NOTE.—Numbers in parentheses are standard deviations. Within each row, means with matching su-
perscripted letters are significantly different at the p ≤ .05 significance level.
tors’ satisfaction is mediated by perceived variety. In con- itively influence preference constructors’ satisfaction. Fur-
trast, identical analyses conducted for preference matchers thermore, the experiment will test whether this effect is
showed that the number of categories had no effect on either driven by increased feelings of self-determination garnered
satisfaction (b p ⫺.18, t p ⫺.63, NS) or perceived variety from choosing among a seemingly varied assortment. In
(b p .06, t p .30, NS) and that only perceived variety had addition to accumulating support for hypotheses 1a and 1b,
an effect on satisfaction (b p .39, t p 2.25, p ! .05). experiment 2 will also test the following hypotheses:
Notably, we also conducted an experiment similar to this
one but with chooser type measured (i.e., participants were H2: For preference constructors, the positive effect of
asked whether their chosen magazine was one that they read category number on satisfaction will occur for both
regularly) rather than manipulated and found the same pat- informative and uninformative category labels.
tern of results. Therefore, consistent with prior research, we
found that choosers’ perceptions of variety positively influ- H3: For preference constructors, feelings of self-deter-
ence their satisfaction (Broniarczyk et al. 1998; Hoch et al. mination will drive the effect of perceived variety
1999). We further found that choosers who are insufficiently on satisfaction.
familiar with the choice set to immediately perceive the
available variety use the display cue of category number to
determine the variety offered. Taken together, the findings
EXPERIMENT 2: THE COFFEE STUDY
from experiment 1 suggest that the presence of more rather Experiment 2 manipulated the information contained in
than fewer categories may play a significant role in enabling the category labels to test the hypothesis that both infor-
choosers—particularly those choosing from among unfa- mative and uninformative category labels increase prefer-
miliar options—to differentiate between the available op- ence constructors’ choice satisfaction. The experiment fol-
tions, engendering greater satisfaction with their choice. lowed a 4 (category: no categories vs. 10 informative cat-
egories vs. 10 somewhat uninformative categories vs. 10
Discussion completely uninformative categories) # 2 (chooser type:
preference matcher vs. preference constructor) between-
When confronted by a large assortment, choosers’ sat- subjects design, where categorization was manipulated and
isfaction may have less to do with the number of available chooser type was measured.
options and more to do with the perceived differences among Additionally, experiment 2 was conducted in the product
the options. Those choosers who search the options to match domain of coffee, which afforded two benefits. First, be-
preexisting preferences possess a familiarity with the choice cause both the preliminary field study and experiment 1 used
set that allows them to perceive variety in the assortment magazines as the stimuli, this experiment tested the gener-
and achieve satisfaction with their chosen outcomes, even alizability of the effect across product domains. Second, it
in the absence of categorical cues. In contrast, choosers who allowed us to hold participants’ actual choice outcomes con-
must engage in preference construction while making sense stant without their knowledge. Although the participants be-
of a large, unfamiliar choice set face a more challenging lieved they consumed their chosen option, in actuality they
choosing exercise. Those choosers must rely on the external were all given the same coffee flavor. Participants’ reported
cue of categories to recognize the variety inherent in the satisfaction consequently reflected the same item for all par-
assortment. They experience satisfaction from choosing ticipants, permitting a truly controlled examination of the
once they perceive differences among the options. Cate- effect of categorization on satisfaction.
gories, therefore, give preference constructors the oppor-
tunity to achieve the same levels of satisfaction from choos-
ing as preference matchers by influencing the key mediating Method
variable: perceived variety. Participants. A female research assistant holding cof-
Although the categorization effect (i.e., the positive im- fee menus randomly approached people sitting at tables in
pact of the number of categories on choosers’ satisfaction) a food court at Stanford University. Those approached were
has been convincingly demonstrated in both an externally asked if they would be interested in participating in a con-
valid field setting and a controlled laboratory setting, the sumer coffee study in which participants would be given
“mereness” of the effect remains untested. Experiment 2 $5 as compensation for selecting a coffee from the menu
was conducted to further investigate the means by which and then answering a brief questionnaire about their selec-
categories achieve their effect, namely whether categories tions. Of the approximately 150 individuals approached, 138
are effective because the labels teach choosers to identify agreed.
the options’ distinguishing attributes or because they merely Of the participants, 53% were male and 47% were female,
signal to choosers that differences must exist between items and they ranged in age from 17 to 66 years (M p 26
belonging to different groupings, in which case even un- years). The ethnic composition was 59% white, 27% Asian,
informative category labels should increase perceptions of 6% Hispanic, 5% African American, and 3% other.
variety and satisfaction. By varying the information con-
tained in the category labels, the following experiment tests Categories. Participants were randomly given one of
the prediction that the mere presence of categories will pos- four menus presenting 50 coffee flavors (listed in the same
order across conditions) and were instructed to “please pe- pian Fancy from Peet’s Coffee and Tea. To ensure that par-
ruse this menu of coffee options, and choose one that you ticipants believed they had received their chosen coffee, they
would like to taste.” The menus, which were made of 11- were asked at the end of the study what they thought the
by-17-inch laminated sheets, listed 50 names of coffee fla- study was about and whether they were suspicious of any-
vors drawn from those offered by Starbucks, Peet’s Coffee thing in the study. Six participants reported suspecting that
and Tea, and a local gourmet coffee shop. all participants received the same coffee to taste. These par-
The coffee options were either uncategorized or divided ticipants were removed from the analyses, which left a sam-
into 10 categories with labels that were informative, some- ple size of 132. After tasting their coffee, participants com-
what uninformative, or completely uninformative. The in- pleted a three-page questionnaire that included the following
formative category labels specified attributes of the coffee measures.
flavors, such as “Complex,” “Spicy,” “Nutty,” “Mild,”
“Earthy,” and so on. The labels in the two uninformative Chooser Type. This study classified preference match-
category conditions provided no actual information about ers as those participants who were more familiar than av-
the options within the categories. However, if choosers were erage with the choice domain and preference constructors
motivated to find meaning in the labels, they likely could as those who were less familiar than average with the choice
have in the somewhat uninformative condition, which domain. Familiarity was measured with three items (a p
grouped the coffees by names of fabricated coffee shops .92). One gauged the extent of participants’ exposure to the
such as “The Gathering,” “Java Joe’s,” “Coffee Time,” “The product category by asking on a 7-point scale (1 p not at
all frequently, 7 p very frequently), “How frequently do
Coffee Shop,” and “The Living Room.” The category labels
you drink coffee?” The other two tapped participants’ ex-
in the completely uninformative condition were based sim-
pertise by asking on 7-point scales (1 p not at all, 7 p
ply on letters from the alphabet: “Category A,” “Category
very much), “To what extent do you consider yourself a
B,” “Category C,” and so on. See the appendix for the menus
coffee drinker?” and “To what extent can you distinguish
presented in the four 10-category conditions.
between types of coffee?”
To ensure that the attribute-based category labels were
perceived as more informative than both the coffee-shop- Chooser Satisfaction. To measure choosers’ satisfac-
based category labels and the alphabet-based category la- tion, participants were asked on a 7-point scale (1 p not
bels, a pilot study was conducted among 45 participants at all, 7 p very satisfied), “How satisfied are you with your
from the same subject pool. The pilot study participants coffee choice?” and “How good does your coffee taste?”
were presented with one of the three 10-category menus Responses on these two items were averaged to create an
and were asked to rate on a 7-point scale (1 p not index of outcome satisfaction (a p .92).
informative at all, 7 p very informative) how informative
the category labels were. An ANOVA revealed that the Perceived Variety. To measure participants’ ability to
category labels varied significantly in their informativeness perceive variety in the assortment, the participants were
(F(1, 42) p 9.86, p ! .001). Contrasts showed that the at- asked on 7-point scales (1 p not at all, 7 p very much),
tribute-based category labels (M p 3.93; SD p 1.91) were “How different were the coffee options from each other?”
perceived as significantly more informative than either the and “How similar were the coffee options to each other?”
coffee-shop-based category labels (M p 2.53; SD p .74, The latter item was reverse scored. To measure how distinct
they believed their chosen option to be, they were asked on
t(42) p ⫺2.87, p p .006) or the alphabet-based category
the same scale, “To what extent do you feel that the coffee
labels (M p 1.80; SD p 1.08, t(42) p ⫺4.37, p ! .001).
you chose is distinct from the other types of coffee you did
The coffee-shop-based labels and the alphabet-based labels
not choose?” These three items were averaged to create an
did not differ in their perceived informativeness (t(42) p
index of perceived variety (a p .71).
⫺1.50, p 1 .10).
All participants were given 1.5 minutes to peruse the Self-Determination. To measure the degree to which
menu. Afterward they reported their chosen coffee to the their choosing experiences contributed to feelings of self-
research assistant, who wrote it down and stated that she determination, participants were presented with four items
would return with it in a few minutes. When there were from the Intrinsic Motivation Inventory that pertained to
multiple participants at a single table, the research assistant choice (Deci et al. 1994; Ryan 1982; Ryan, Koestner, and
took all of their orders at the same time. (The number of Deci 1991). On a 7-point scale (1 p not at all true, 7 p
people at a table ranged from one to four and did not affect very true), participants were asked to state how true the
subsequent responses on the perceived variety or satisfaction following statements were for them: “I believe I had some
measures.) After taking the participants’ orders, the research choice about selecting this particular coffee,” “I selected this
assistant left for approximately 5 minutes and returned with particular coffee because I wanted to,” “I selected this par-
a Styrofoam cup one-quarter full of coffee. As the coffee ticular coffee because I had no choice,” and “I selected this
was handed to the participant, the research assistant stated particular coffee because I had to.” Responses to the first
the name of his or her selected coffee flavor, which was also two items and the reverse scores of the second two items
handwritten on the cup. Unbeknownst to the participants, were averaged to create the index of perceived self-deter-
all participants were served the same coffee flavor: Ethio- mination (a p .70).
TABLE 2
EXPERIMENT 2 RESULTS
Ten categories
Zero categories Attribute-based Coffee-shop-based Alphabet-based
Preference Preference Preference Preference Preference Preference Preference Preference
Chooser type constructor matcher constructor matcher constructor matcher constructor matcher
Satisfaction 3.53a, b, c, d (1.51) 4.80a (1.42) 4.47b (1.37) 4.17 (1.54) 4.73c (1.36) 5.06 (1.09) 4.87d (1.41) 4.41 (1.30)
Perceived variety 3.77a, b, c, d (1.64) 4.84a (.78) 4.75b (.72) 4.44 (1.06) 5.04c (1.19) 4.71 (1.26) 4.71d (1.05) 4.98 (.98)
Preference identification 2.36 (1.92) 2.77 (1.53) 4.03a, b (1.92) 3.80 (1.69) 2.50a (2.00) 3.35 (1.85) 2.47b (.97) 2.87 (2.05)
NOTE.—Numbers in parentheses represent standard deviations. Within each row, means with matching superscripted letters are significantly different at the
p ≤ .05 significance level.
Manipulation Check and Alternative Account. Al- rization condition, preference constructors (M p 3.53 )
though a pilot study was conducted to demonstrate that per- were significantly less satisfied than preference matchers
ceptions of category-label informativeness varied across the (M p 4.80; F(1, 124) p 7.14, p ! .01), whereas in each of
category conditions, as an additional check of the manip- the three categorization conditions preference constructors
ulation the experiment participants were also asked to rate and preference matchers did not significantly differ in their
on a 7-point scale (1 p not informative at all, 7 p very levels of outcome satisfaction ( p’s 1 .10). Furthermore, in
informative) how informative the category labels were. support of hypothesis 2, pairwise comparisons showed that
To test the alternative account that categories might con- for preference constructors, no categories (M p 3.53) led
tribute to choosers’ satisfaction by informing their prefer- to significantly lower outcome satisfaction than did the at-
ence construction, participants were asked on 7-point scales tribute-based category labels (M p 4.47 ; p ! .05), the cof-
(1 p not at all, 7 p very much), “To what extent did the fee-shop-based category labels (M p 4.73 ; p ! .05 ), or the
category labels on the menu help you identify the best op- alphabet-based category labels (M p 4.87; p ! .01). The
tion?” and “To what extent did the category labels on the three categorization conditions did not significantly differ
menu help you find the best option for you?” These items from one another ( p’s 1 .10). For preference matchers, how-
were averaged to create the preference identification index ever, neither the presence of categories nor the content of
(a p .95). the category labels significantly influenced their outcome
satisfaction (although there was a marginally significant dif-
ference between the attribute-based label condition and the
Results coffee-shop-based label condition, p ! .10 ). See table 2 for
Manipulation Check. A 2 (chooser type) # 4 (cate- a listing of the means and standard deviations.
gory) ANOVA conducted on the perceived informativeness Categorization showed a similar pattern of effects on
of the category labels revealed that the categorization ma- choosers’ perceptions of variety. For preference constructors
nipulation was successful. The results showed a main effect (but not for preference matchers), categories led to greater
of category condition (F(1, 121) p 5.00, p ! .01) and no perceptions of variety, irrespective of the content of the
interaction effect (F(1, 121) p .40, NS). Pairwise com- category labels. A 2 (chooser type) # 4 (category) ANO-
parisons revealed that the attribute-based category labels VA was conducted on perceived variety, revealing only a
(M p 4.10) were perceived to be more informative than the significant interaction effect (F(3, 124) p 2.79, p ! .05).
no-category condition (M p 2.48; p ! .001), the coffee- Planned contrasts showed that in the no-categorization con-
shop-based category labels (M p 3.31; p ! .10), or the al- dition, preference constructors (M p 3.77) perceived sig-
phabet-based category labels (M p 2.87 ; p ! .01). The cof- nificantly less variety than did preference matchers (M p
fee-shop-based labels and the alphabet-based labels did not 4.84; F(1, 124) p 7.52, p ! .01), whereas in each of the
significantly differ in their perceived informativeness ( p 1 three categorization conditions preference constructors
.10). and preference matchers did not significantly differ in their
levels of perceived choice ( p’s 1 .10). Pairwise comparisons
Hypothesis Testing. Irrespective of the information showed that for preference constructors, no categories
contained in the category labels, categorization led to greater (M p 3.77) led to significantly lower perceived variety than
chooser satisfaction than did no categorization, but only for did the attribute-based category labels (M p 4.75; p ! .05),
preference constructors. For preference matchers, the mere the coffee-shop-based category labels (M p 5.04; p ! .01),
presence of categories did not affect their satisfaction with or the alphabet-based category labels (M p 4.71; p ! .05).
their chosen coffee. A 2 (chooser type) # 4 (category) The three categorization conditions did not significantly dif-
ANOVA was conducted on choosers’ outcome satisfaction, fer from one another ( p’s 1 .10). For preference matchers,
revealing only a significant interaction (F(3, 124) p 2.70, there were no significant differences across the categori-
p ! .05). Planned contrasts showed that in the no-catego- zation conditions ( p’s 1 .10).
Categorization did not similarly contribute to choosers’ In sum, these results suggest that for preference construc-
preference identification; mere categorization did not facil- tors, the mere presence of categories in an assortment leads
itate preference constructors’ ability to identify the best op- to greater perceptions of variety, which lead to greater feel-
tion. A 2 (chooser type) # 4 (category) ANOVA was con- ings of self-determination, which result in greater satisfac-
ducted on the preference identification index, revealing only tion with the chosen options. This effect is one of perception,
a main effect of category (F(3, 121) p 3.75, p ! .05). Pair- driven by mere categorization and variety, rather than one
wise comparisons showed that for preference constructors, of preference identification. Preference matchers, on the
the attribute-based category labels (M p 4.03 ) helped par- other hand, do not rely on the display cue of categorization
ticipants identify their preferred options significantly more to derive satisfaction from the process of choosing.
than did the no-category condition (M p 2.36; p ! .01), the
coffee-shop-based category labels (M p 2.50; p ! .05), and GENERAL DISCUSSION
the alphabet-based category labels (M p 2.47; p ! .05). For
preference matchers, there were no significant differences The results of a preliminary field study and two lab ex-
between the category conditions ( p’s 1 .10). periments show that a display cue incidental to the choosing
process can influence consumers’ satisfaction with the
Process Testing. To examine how mere categorization choices they make. We found that the number of categories
increased preference constructors’ choice satisfaction, two partitioning an assortment leads consumers to feel more sat-
sets of mediation analyses were conducted among these isfied with their chosen option, even when those categories
choosers. The first tested the hypothesized role of perceived do not provide information about the options in the assort-
variety, and the second tested the alternative account of ment. Such findings reveal that the positive effect of cate-
preference identification. First, to test the role of perceived gorization is not only a cognitive process in which the con-
variety, satisfaction was regressed on the presence of cat- tent of category labels helps consumers identify their
egories (b p .35, t p 3.02, p ! .01). Next, perceived va- preferred option. The effect is also a perceptual process in
riety was regressed on the presence of categories (b p which consumers infer differences in the available options
.37, t p 3.22, p ! .01), and then satisfaction was regressed through the mere presence of categories. A greater number
on perceived variety (b p .37, t p 3.15, p ! .01). The ef- of categories increases perceptions of variety, greater per-
fect of the presence of categories on satisfaction (b p .25, ceptions of variety increases self-determination, and greater
t p 2.06, p ! .05) was found to significantly decrease, while self-determination increases consumers’ satisfaction. This
the effect of perceived variety remained significant (b p effect is mitigated among preference matchers.
.27, t p 2.23, p ! .05; Sobel z p 2.28, p ! .05). Supporting Identification of the mere categorization effect contributes
hypothesis 1b, this suggests that the positive effect of the to the growing amount of research demonstrating the impact
mere presence of categories on preference constructors’ of the “mere” presence of particular factors on consumers’
satisfaction is mediated by perceived variety. Next, to test judgments and behavior. In the mere measurement effect,
whether preference identification also has a significant effect measuring consumers’ behavioral intentions is shown to in-
on preference constructors’ satisfaction, the same set of anal- fluence their subsequent likelihood of engaging in that be-
yses was conducted, with perceived variety replaced with havior (e.g., Janiszewski and Chandon 2007). In the mere
the preference identification index. However, the insignifi- exposure effect, exposing consumers to a brand name is
cant effect of the presence of categories on choosers’ ability shown to instill more positive brand attitudes (Janiszewski
to identify their preferred options (b p .17, t p 1.33, p 1 1993; Zajonc 1980). In the mere social presence effect, the
.10) and the marginal effect of preference identification on presence of another shopper in a store is shown to generate
outcome satisfaction (b p .21, t p 1.69, p ! .10) suggested negative emotions in consumers (Argo, Dahl, and Man-
that preference identification did not mediate the effect. chanda 2005). In the mere accessibility effect, making pos-
With evidence that the mere presence of categories leads itive information easy to retrieve is shown to prompt more
to increased chooser satisfaction by increasing perceptions positive evaluations (Menon and Raghubir 2003). In the
of variety in the assortment, an additional set of mediation mere categorization effect, we show that the presence of
analyses examined why mere variety leads to greater sat- category labels in an option display leads to greater con-
isfaction. Among preference constructors, satisfaction was sumer satisfaction. As in the other “mere” effects, the mech-
first regressed on perceived variety (b p .35, t p 4.28, anism underlying our categorization effect is neither cog-
p ! .001). Next, feelings of self-determination were regressed nitive nor expected.
on perceived variety (b p .30, t p 3.55, p p .001), and then Our study of the mere categorization effect has also
satisfaction was regressed on feelings of self-determination yielded intriguing theoretical implications, potentially of-
(b p .42, t p 5.20, p ! .001). In support of hypothesis 3, fering additional insight into the “paradox of choice” (Iyen-
the effect of perceived variety (b p .25, t p 3.09, p ! .01) gar and Lepper 2000; Schwartz 2004). On the one hand,
significantly decreased, while the effect of self-determina- retailers appeal to consumers’ desire for variety by supplying
tion remained highly significant (b p .34, t p 4.21, p ! them with an ever-increasing number of choices (Kahn 1995;
.001; Sobel z p 2.90, p ! .01), suggesting that the positive McAlister and Pessemier 1982). On the other hand, exten-
effect of perceived variety on preference constructors’ sat- sive choice sets are associated with decreases in both con-
isfaction is mediated by feelings of self-determination. sumer satisfaction and likelihood to purchase because of
consumers’ limited cognitive ability to process the large Diehl et al. (2003). Diehl et al. found that access to a screen-
amount of information that accompanies extensive choice ing device, which rank orders a subset of the available al-
sets (Benartzi and Thaler 2002; Chernev 2003a, 2003b; ternatives by attribute importance, leads to better-quality
Iyengar and Lepper 2000; Iyengar, Wells, and Schwartz choices. Yet the results of experiment 2—in which cate-
2006; Miller 1956; Schneider 1998; Schwartz 2000; Simon gories not containing attribute information positively influ-
1955; Solomon, Holmes, and McCaul 1980). Our results enced preference constructors’ satisfaction—distinguish our
propose a moderator to these instances of “choice overload.” proposed effect of categories as a visual display cue from
Specifically, the mere presence of categories in an extensive other information-based effects in which categories delin-
choice set might serve to regain choosers’ satisfaction by eate smaller consideration sets that allow choosers to nar-
helping those who are most susceptible to the detriments of row their focus to the options offering their preferred com-
too much choice (Chernev 2003a, 2003b) discern differences bination of attributes.
among the available options. That is, because categories Second, we evaluate decision outcomes by concentrating
allow choosers to perceive the variety available in extensive on consumers’ subjective feelings of satisfaction that result
choice sets, an increased number of categories may be able from a sense of self-determination. In prior work (Diehl et
to alleviate the detrimental effects of choice overload. al. 2003), screening devices helped participants choose ob-
To explore this possibility that the mere presence of cat- jectively “better” outcomes. We propose a distinct, experi-
egories could eliminate the drop in satisfaction between ential effect by which consumers are more satisfied as long
choosers faced with overwhelming extensive choice sets and as they feel that they have made a choice. Whether the
choosers faced with cognitively manageable limited choice chosen outcome is objectively better (possessing an ideal
sets, we conducted a study using a similar paradigm as the combination of attributes) may be irrelevant as long as
coffee study, but we included a limited choice set condition. choosers perceive themselves to have attained the option
As in experiment 2, participants (N p 121, 47% women, they believe suits them best. The design for experiment 2
age range 18–75 years, M p 28 years) were presented with
made possible this distinction between subjectively and ob-
a menu of coffee options. But in addition to manipulating
jectively preferred outcomes. Even though all participants
the presence of categories (zero vs. 10) and the informa-
were unknowingly given the exact same coffee flavor to
tiveness of the category labels (attribute-based vs. fabricated
coffee-shop-based), we also manipulated the number of op- taste and evaluate, participants experienced their coffee as
tions presented by including a condition with five uncate- personally chosen. Therefore, we were able to precisely test
gorized options. In line with previous research (Chernev the influence of the choosing experience on choosers’ eval-
2003a, 2003b), we found that preference constructors pre- uations of their chosen outcomes, irrespective of the out-
sented with 50 uncategorized options (M p 2.70) were sig- come’s objective qualities. This investigation reveals a novel
nificantly less satisfied with their coffee selections than were role for categories. Even without providing an attribute-
either preference constructors presented with five options based screening mechanism or ensuring objectively better
(M p 4.09; F(1, 55) p 11.34, p p .001) or preference outcomes, categories are able to highlight the experiential
matchers presented with 50 uncategorized options (M p variance among options that satisfy consumers. In light of
5.07; F(1, 55) p 21.50, p ! .001). More important, we these findings, we can add categories to the list of display
found that the mere presence of categories (irrespective of cues that influence consumers’ perceptions of variety (Bron-
whether the category labels were informative) reduced this iarczyk et al. 1998; Hoch et al. 1999; Kahn and Wansink
detrimental effect by signaling greater variety in the large 2004; Morales et al. 2005) and improve novice choosers’
assortment. See table 3 for the results. decision-making experiences in the face of an overwhelming
This article offers two important insights. First, our pro- number of options (Chernev 2003a, 2003b).
posed mechanism suggests that categories function differ- The findings of this investigation are of relevance to mar-
ently than screening devices such as those investigated by keting practitioners as well. We asked 15 magazine exec-
TABLE 3
COFFEE STUDY RESULTS
Five options Fifty options

Ten attribute-based Ten coffee-shop-based
Zero categories Zero categories categories categories
Preference Preference Preference Preference Preference Preference Preference Preference
Chooser type constructor matcher constructor matcher constructor matcher constructor matcher
Satisfaction 4.09a (1.16) 4.63 (1.24) 2.70a, b, c (1.14) 5.07b, d (1.68) 3.46e (1.49) 4.55e (1.25) 3.76c (1.09) 3.88d (1.77)
Perceived variety 4.67a (1.09) 4.44 (1.13) 2.88a, b, c, d (.99) 5.25b, e (1.14) 4.96c (1.33) 4.64f (1.29) 4.42d (1.18) 3.64e, f (.95)
NOTE.—Numbers in parentheses represent standard deviations. Within each row, means with matching superscripted letters are significantly
different at the p ≤ .05 significance level.
utives which has a stronger effect on magazine customers’ effects of choice overload. The mere presence of categories
satisfaction: the number of different categories or the num- can assist consumers in visually parsing choice sets into
ber of different magazines. The majority (87%) of these more groupings, enhancing their perceptions of the variety
experts concluded that the number of different categories is among options. In other words, categorization could trans-
less important than the number of different magazines. Yet form “too much choice” into just the right amount by better
the combined findings from these field and laboratory stud- enabling consumers to obtain value from large assortments.
ies suggest that the number of categories can significantly This same mechanism could also be used to efficiently ad-
affect customers’ satisfaction, perhaps even more so than dress retailers’ and marketers’ opposing concerns of pro-
the actual number of options present. viding more options to satisfy consumers’ desire for variety,
Categorization can therefore benefit practitioners by pro- by instead using categories to highlight the existing variety
viding an alternative to option reduction in alleviating the in the assortment.
APPENDIX
COFFEE MENUS PRESENTED IN EXPERIMENT 2
FIGURE A1 FIGURE A2
NO CATEGORIES TEN ATTRIBUTE-BASED CATEGORIES

FIGURE A3 FIGURE A4
TEN COFFEE-SHOP-BASED CATEGORIES TEN ALPHABET-BASED CATEGORIES
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The Mere Categorization Effect

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The Mere Categorization Effect: How the

Presence of Categories Increases Choosers’

What is the effect of option categorization on choosers’ satisfaction? A combination

I magine shoppers browsing the magazine rack in a su-

䉷 2008 by JOURNAL OF CONSUMER RESEARCH, Inc. ● Vol. 35 ● August 2008

Three categories Eighteen categories

Satisfaction 6.18a, b (2.21) 8.33b (1.23) 7.50a (1.34) 8.07 (1.10)

COFFEE STUDY RESULTS

Five options Fifty options

NO CATEGORIES TEN ATTRIBUTE-BASED CATEGORIES

TEN COFFEE-SHOP-BASED CATEGORIES TEN ALPHABET-BASED CATEGORIES

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