Because products are rarely described completely, consumers often form inferences that go beyond the information given. We review research on the processes, bases, and the judgment contexts in which inferences are formed. The most basic processes are induction (inferences from specific instances to general principles) versus deduction (inferences from general principles to specific instances). Stimulus‐based inferences are formed on‐line (as information is encountered) using situationally available information, whereas memory‐based (or theory‐based) inferences are formed using prior knowledge and experience. Inferences can pertain to a single product judged in isolation (a singular judgment context) or to multiple products considered in relation to one another (a comparative judgment context). This 2x2x2 (Induction vs. Deduction x Stimulus‐Based vs. Memory‐Based x Singular vs. Comparative Judgment) theoretical framework suggests that there are 8 different types of inferences that consumers may form. Based on this framework, we identify gaps in the literature and suggest directions for future research.

This research investigates the effects of the amount of information presented, information organization, and concern about closure on selective information processing and on the degree to which consumers use price as a basis for inferring quality. Consumers are found to be less likely to neglect belief-inconsistent information and their quality inferences less influenced by price when concern about closure is low (vs. high) and information is presented randomly (vs. ordered) or a small amount of information is presented. Results provide a picture of a resourceconstrained consumer decision maker who processes belief-inconsistent information only when there is motivation and opportunity. C onsumers frequently assume that price and quality are highly correlated, and that as the price of a product increases, its quality increases commensurately ("you get what you pay for"). This assumption exerts a powerful influence on the degree to which consumers use price to infer quality (

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Construal level theory (Trope & Libernlan, 2003) suggests that construal level&or the degree of abstractness of mental representations-increases with temporal, spatial, or sensory distance. Three experiments show that the mere presence of a set of target brands at the time a choice is made encourages consumers to represent the brands in memory in terms of concrete lower-level construals. Consequently, preference stability is higher, preference-behavior consistency is greater, and product category-identification latencies for competing brands are slower. Furthermore, the mere presence of target brands at the time of choice affects preference-behavior consistency independent of the effects of direct experience. Implications for an understanding of spontaneous preference formation, preference representation, and preference elicitation are discussed. Abstract Pallid Difficult to imagine-visualize Subordinate goals and features (e.g., why goals, desirability of Superordinate goals and features (e.g., instrumental means, feasibility of outcomes) Secondary (surface) features Contextualized Antecedents outcomes) Primary (core) features Decontextualized Low sensory distance (e.g., mere presence, first hand experience) High sensory distance (e.g., verbal representation, second hand experience) Low spatial distance (e.g., nearby location) High spatial distance (e.g., distant location) Low temporal distance (e.g., near future, recent past) High temporal distance (e.g., distant future, distant past) Consequences Immediate, obvious, and direct implications for behavior Distant, nonobvious, and indirect implications for behavior

Consumers often rely heavily on price as a predictor of quality and typically overestimate the strength of this relation. Furthermore, the inferences of quality they make on the basis of price can influence their actual purchase decisions. Selective hypothesis testing appears to underlie the effects of information load and format on price–quality inferences. Results of 5 experiments converge on the conclusion that quality inferences are more heavily influenced by price when individuals have a high need for cognitive closure, when the amount of information presented is high (vs. low), and when the information presented is rank ordered in terms of quality rather than presented randomly. Furthermore, because consumers are willing to purchase more expensive brands when they perceive a high price–quality correlation, these variables can also influence their purchase decisions.