Interattribute evaluation theory

In this article we advance a theory that describes how people evaluate attribute values. We propose that evaluations involve a target and a reference value. Evaluators first seek a reference value on the target attribute (e.g., an average value or another stimulus’s value on that same attribute). However, in the absence of same-attribute information, evaluators may instead rely on the target stimulus’s own value on another attribute and make an evaluation about the target in one of two ways. First, the individual may compare the target attribute value to the stimulus’s value on a reference attribute. The evaluator is more likely to engage in an interattribute comparison when the target attribute value is relatively evaluable and compatible with the reference value. Second, the individual may infer the magnitude of the target value based on his or her judgment about the extremity (e.g., the goodness or badness) of the stimulus’s value on a reference attribute and the perceived correlation between the target attribute and the reference attribute. The evaluator is more likely to make an inference about the target value based on the reference when the target is low in evaluability and is less compatible with the reference value. Two attribute values are considered to be more compatible when their scale format is more similar. We provide support for our framework in 14 studies.