Cognitive heuristics length is strength

• Main Authors: Ang, Hui Ching, Lee, Ellyn Yuen Leng, Ng, Ee Chuan
• Other Authors: Nanyang Business School
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2014
• Subjects: DRNTU::Business
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/55752
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

For a number of years consumer interest groups in several developed countries have been lobbying for product packages to carry full disclosure of product information. Such a move has the effect of lengthening the amount of information files on product packages. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of such a move on different groups of people, such as adults, children, males and females. The study confirms the presence of a cognitive heuristic, known as the "length is strength" heuristic, in Singaporean adults. This heuristic purports that more information is often equated to better quality. Hence a mandatory move towards full disclosure would have an unwanted effect of creating heuristical slants in the way adults perceive quality. The study also shows that the heuristic is not present in children, implying that it is learnt. It also reveals that the process of learning is uneven bet ween boys and girls. This finding should interest marketers especially with the growing emphasis on micro marketing. However as the study points out, the knowledge of the learning process is incomplete and warrants further investigation.