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Attraction Effect
The attraction effect (also known as the decoy effect or the asymmetric dominance effect) refers to a phenomenon in which adding an inferior alternative into an existing choice set increases the probability of choosing an alternative from the original set. The term attraction effect comes from the fact that an inferior alternative attracts attention or the choice share to one of the alternatives in the choice set. Because the attraction effect is caused by the addition of an inferior alternative, which is called a decoy, to a core choice set, it is also called the decoy effect (the decoy effect is a broader term than the attraction effect). Finally, the asymmetric dominance effect refers to a specific case of the attraction effect in which the decoy is asymmetrically dominated by one of the alternatives in the set.
The attraction effect has important theoretical implications because it violates some fundamental assumptions of many rational choice models. One such assumption is the principle of regularity, by which the probability of choosing one alternative from an initial choice set cannot be increased by adding a new alternative. The attraction effect also violates an assumption that choices are independent of irrelevant alternatives.
Experimental Paradigm
For the attraction effect to occur, several conditions must be met. In a typical experimental setting (decision environment) in which the attraction effect is demonstrated, alternatives are defined on a few (usually two) attributes (or dimensions) in a decision space (see Figure 1 for a two-attribute decision space). In this decision space, two alternatives (A and B) form a core choice set. These alternatives are selected so that they are nondominating or competitive to each other. In Figure 1, A is weaker on Dimension 1 (e.g., the quality dimension) and stronger on Dimension 2 (e.g., the price dimension), while the reverse is the case for B. Then an alternative that is inferior to only one alternative in the core set, which is called a decoy, is added to the set. The alternative that is directly superior to the decoy is called the target (B) and the other alternative that does not have a dominance relation with the decoy is called the competitor (A). The attraction effect is demonstrated when the proportion of people choosing the target significantly increases when the decoy is present compared with when the decoy is absent. The decoy is rarely chosen in most cases. The attraction effect has been demonstrated using both the between- and within-subjects designs.
Decoy Types
There are six types of decoys studied in the literature. These decoys can be broadly divided into two categories depending on whether there is an asymmetric dominance relation between the target and the decoy: asymmetrically dominated decoys and nonasymmetrically dominated decoys. There are three decoy types in each category. The asymmetrically dominated decoys have been studied more extensively in the literature because they produce a greater attraction effect.
Asymmetrically Dominated Decoys
The asymmetrically dominated decoys include the range (R), frequency (F), and range-frequency (RF) decoys (see Figure 1). The range (R) decoy extends the range of the target on the dimension on which the target is weaker than the competitor. The frequency (F) decoy increases the frequency of alternatives along the dimension on which the target is stronger than the competitor. The range-frequency (RF) decoy combines the effect of the range decoy with the effect of the frequency decoy. All these three types of decoys are directly dominated by the target but not by the competitor.
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