More Evidence Challenging the Robustness and Usefulness of the Attraction Effect
Sybil Yang and Michael Lynn tested the attraction effect, the decoy effect in the literature's other name, in 91 attempts across 23 product classes and 73 decoyed choice sets. Only 11 attempts produced reliable effects, fewer than their statistical power would lead them to expect. When the options were distinguished by meaningful verbal descriptions or pictures, the effects shrank substantially and were found at only chance levels. The authors briefly discuss what this means for marketing practice and research.
Sybil Yang and Michael Lynn tested the attraction effect, the decoy effect in the literature's other name, in 91 attempts across 23 product classes and 73 decoyed choice sets. Only 11 attempts produced reliable effects, fewer than their statistical power would lead them to expect. When the options were distinguished by meaningful verbal descriptions or pictures, the effects shrank substantially and were found at only chance levels. The authors briefly discuss what this means for marketing practice and research.
Written from the abstract as shown on the Cornell eCommons record, read 2026-10-28.
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Yang, S., & Lynn, M. (2014). More evidence challenging the robustness and usefulness of the attraction effect. Journal of Marketing Research, 51(4), 508-513. doi:10.1509/jmr.14.0020.