Modulation of taxonomic (versus thematic) similarity judgments and product choices by inducing local and global processing

Perceived similarity is influenced by both taxonomic and thematic relations. Assessing taxonomic relations requires comparing individual features of objects whereas assessing thematic relations requires exploring how objects functionally interact. These processes appear to relate to different thinking styles: abstract thinking and a global focus may be required to explore functional interactions whereas attention to detail and a local focus may be required to compare specific features. In four experiments we explored this idea by assessing whether a preference for taxonomic or thematic relations could be created by inducing a local or global perceptual processing style. Experiments 1–3 primed processing style via a perceptual task and used a choice task to examine preference for taxonomic (versus thematic) relations. Experiment 4 induced processing style and examined the effect on similarity ratings for pairs of taxonomic and thematically related items. In all cases processing style influenced preference for taxonomic/thematic relations.