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Results from two studies confirm recent findings that (1) survey respondents often use nonepisodic processes to answer frequency questions about autobiographical events, and (2) task conditions, such as the number of events to be reported and the time used in response formulation, affect the processes used. Results suggest that cognitive mechanisms other than episode omission and episode telescoping contribute to response errors. It appears that new methodological approaches, such as directly or indirectly manipulating the response formulation process, may be useful in attempts to improve the accuracy of behavioral frequency reports in surveys.Questions about behavioral frequency are a common feature of surveys, and the resulting data often underlie important decisions. Until recently, efforts to improve such data have relied, in part, upon a memory model proposed by Sudman and Bradburn (1974). This memory model presumes that respondents answer frequency questions via episode enumeration, in which behavioral episodes are recalled and counted, and that response errors are the result of episode omission and/or episode misplacement (telescoping) during this process. Recent studies, however, have shown that survey respondents use a variety of cognitive processes in formulating answers to frequency questions (Lessler et al.

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The authors report the results of an experiment examining the effect of functional compatibility risk on Consumers' preference for product bundles vis-à-vis separate items. In a laboratory experiment, 90 undergraduate business students were asked to choose bundled or unbundled stereo equipment after reading product information that either did or did not prime fears of functional compatibility risk. The results indicate that heightening the salience of functional compatibility risk may be a practical way for marketers to increase Consumers'choice of bundled products, particularly among consumers who are more uncertain of their product knowledge.

Most prior research on bundling from a consumer perspective has focused on how bundles are processed, particularly from a prospect theory or mental accounting perspective. In contrast, relatively little research has examined the factors that might drive consumer preference for bundles versus individual items. This article addresses one such factor: the potential to reduce search and assembly costs. Through exploratory interviews and two laboratory experiments, the authors show that preference for a bundle is greater when bundle choice will reduce search effort than when it will not, particularly among consumers who are less motivated to process information.

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This article considers the effects of reference prices in retail advertisements, that is, comparison prices cited as evidence of the savings represented by advertised prices. Reference prices are found to increase consumers’ estimates of the savings offered by advertised prices, though the full savings claims made by reference prices are not accepted. Results suggest that false reference prices do have the capacity to deceive but that deception is not guaranteed.