Medium Maximization
Christopher Hsee, Fang Yu, Jiao Zhang and Yan Zhang define a medium, such as points or money, as a token people earn as the immediate payoff for effort. It has no value in itself but can be exchanged for something wanted. In experiments where options lead to different outcomes, a medium shifted which option people chose. The authors attribute this to three effects: a medium can make a less advantageous option look better, make an uncertain option look more certain, and make a concave effort-outcome relationship look linear. They say the findings bear on how points shape consumer choice.
Christopher Hsee, Fang Yu, Jiao Zhang and Yan Zhang define a medium, such as points or money, as a token people earn as the immediate payoff for effort. It has no value in itself but can be exchanged for something wanted. In experiments where options lead to different outcomes, a medium shifted which option people chose. The authors attribute this to three effects: a medium can make a less advantageous option look better, make an uncertain option look more certain, and make a concave effort-outcome relationship look linear. They say the findings bear on how points shape consumer choice.
Written from the abstract read 2026-10-21 via IDEAS (RePEc) record of the Journal of Consumer Research.
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Recorded when this source was checked, figures included, with page references and quotation marks removed.
Hsee, C. K., Yu, F., Zhang, J., & Zhang, Y. (2003). 'Medium Maximization.' Journal of Consumer Research, 30(1), 1-14. doi:10.1086/374702