Subjective satisfaction and perceived difficulty in decision making were surveyed on a 5-point scale. Two separate groups were tested- the first being a small choice set group and the second being a large choice set group. The hypothesis was that in the small choice set individuals would score higher on satisfaction because of a lesser amount of attractive alternatives. The opposite was thought to be true of the large choice group. 3 groups of 20 were tested. The small and large choice group did not have a significant difference in mean satisfaction while there was a small increase in mean satisfaction in the control group, although not significant, according to the analyses.

1. S
Subjective Satisfaction in Scenarios Involving
Choice: How The Amount of Choice
Influences Satisfaction
Scott Schneider
Minnesota State University, Moorhead

2. Intrinsic Motivation
S Motivation, perceived control, and satisfaction
S Freedom of choice increase motivation and performance
S Smaller amount of choice increases intrinsic and extrinsic
motivation
S Results showed lower choice set yielded higher subsequent
purchasing
Iyengar, S.S. & Lepper, M.R. (2000). When Choice is Demotivating: Can One Desire Too Much of a Good Thing?
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 79, 995-1006.

3. Decision Freedom
S The influence of choice on behavior and attitudes
S Increases as equal choices increase
S Greater enhancement of the chosen alternative occurs as
choice set expands
Steiner, I.D. Percieved freedom. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 1970, 5, 187-248

4. Perceived Difficulty
S Perception of how easy a specific behavior would be to
perform
S “For me to engage in behavior, x would be easy/difficult”
W. M. Rodgers, M. Conner. Distinguishing among perceived control, perceived difficulty, and self-efficacy as
determinants of intentions and behaviors. British Journal of Social Psychology (2008), 47, 607–630

5. Perceived Self-Efficacy
S The estimate of one’s confidence to execute a well-
defined set of behaviors
S What one can do with what one has in a situation
S Leads to an overall satisfaction corresponding to behavior
W. M. Rodgers, M. Conner. Distinguishing among perceived control, perceived difficulty, and self-efficacy as
determinants of intentions and behaviors. British Journal of Social Psychology (2008), 47, 607–630

6. Choice and Individual Welfare
S Dense assortments yield value judgment
S Confronting many choices can be overwhelming in large choice
sets
S Buyers are often less satisfied and less confident with their
decision
S Regret can occur, especially when benefits fail to arise
Iyengar, S.S. & Lepper, M.R. (2000). When Choice is Demotivating: Can One Desire Too Much of a Good
Thing? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 79, 995-1006.

7. Choice and Individual Welfare
S Too large of a set size may lead individuals to abandon
decision-making process
S Conflict Theory
S Default option is often chosen when alternatives or trade-offs
are unknown
Tversky, A., & Kahneman, D. (1974). Judgment under uncertainty: Heuristics and biases. Science, 1124–1131. Web.
Greenleaf, Eric & Don Lehmann. (1995). Reasons for substantial delay in consumer decision making. Journal of
Consumer
Research 22, 186-189. Web.

8. Hypotheses
S Subjective satisfaction will differ between the size of
choice sets in a consumer scenario
S Small choice set:
S Higher subjective satisfaction
S Large choice set:
S Lower subjective satisfaction

9. Design
S 60 MSUM psychology students
S Random assignment to conditions
S 0 choice control
S 6 choice set
S 12 choice set
S Between-Subjects Design

10. Design
S Condition 0
S Control condition- 1 option
S Rating
S Subjective satisfaction
S Condition 1
S 6 choice condition
S Rating
S Subjective satisfaction
S Condition 2
S 12 choice condition
S Rating
S Subjective satisfaction

11. Design
S Materials
S Informed Consent
S Demographic Survey
S Stimuli
S Subjective satisfaction questionnaire post test

12. Participants
S 16 male participants (26.7%)
S 44 female participants (73.3%)
S Age range: 18-55 (M=20.78, SD=5.59)

13. Subjective Satisfaction
Inventory
S 9 question inventory based on a 5-point Likert scale
S Measures:
S The Maximization Inventory (Turner, et al)
S Maximization Scale (Lai, et al)

14. Results
S Control Condition: (N=21), (M=4.32, SD=0.69)
S 6 Choice Condition: (N=19), (M=4.52, SD=0.44)
S 12 Choice Condition: (N=20), (M=4.61, SD=0.42)
3
3.5
4
4.5
5
5.5
6
Control 6 Choice 12 Choice
OverallSatisfaction
Condition
Satisfaction

15. Discussion
S Explored at what point choice satisfaction begins to
increase/decrease
S 12 choice should illicit lower satisfaction and 6 choice
should illicit higher satisfaction
S Hypothesis was not supported by data

16. Previous Research
S (Iyengar & Lepper, 2000) state subjective satisfaction levels are
dependent upon the set size of choices
S (Greenleaf & Lehmann, 1995) find lower satisfaction levels in large
choice sets and possibly abandonment of process
S (Rottenstreich & Sood, 1999) state “choice overload” can lower
perceptions of attractiveness as set size and time increases
S (Carmon & Ziv, 2003) find that large choice sets may inhibit
question of competency of making sound decisions
S This may result in a lower sense of satisfaction if the individual
completes the decision-making process

17. Implications
S Mean scores did not differ by more than 1 point across all
three conditions
S Set size
S Obligation
S Random or otherwise

18. Questionnaires
S 9 questions total on a self-created scale
S Reliable inventories and scales

19. Future Direction
S Physicality of stimuli
S Alternative stimuli
S Advertising
S Small set vs. large set
S Marketing settings and buyer scenarios