Hypothetical Purchase Task Questionnaires for Behavioral Economic Assessments of Value and Motivation

Abstract

We tested effects of hypothetical purchase task (HPT) questionnaire price density (17, 9, or 5 prices) and purchase type (quantity purchased or probability of single purchase) on behavioral economic (BE) measures of value for six commodities. The exponential model of demand provided excellent fits for all HPTs (mean R 2 = 0.98). High density HPTs were most sensitive yet most resistant to distortion. BE value measures were lower in quantity versus probability HPTs. Rank ordering of commodity values agreed regardless of HPT structural manipulations. Expenditure curves were unexpectedly bimodal, but consistent with exponential model predictions. Implications for HPT construction and BE research are discussed.

Initial Development of an E-cigarette Purchase Task: A Mixed Methods Study

“…Additionally, recent versions of hypothetical purchase tasks for consumer items have used probability of purchase rather than number of units purchased and this method could potentially be adapted for use with e-cigarette users. 29 However, this method has not yet been used for assessing hypothetical purchases of drugs of abuse. Another possibility is including pictures of the device in question, which has been shown to facilitate comprehension of e-cigarette-related questions, or, in the case of millileters of e-juice, by providing a visual aid in the form of a labeled, standard-sized bottle.…”

Depressive Symptoms and Cigarette Demand as a Function of Induced Stress

“…This was a hypothetical CPT and participants did not purchase real cigarettes. 34,35 Estimated cigarette consumption was assessed at 48 prices from $0 to $9. Prices increased in 5¢ increments between $0 and $2 and in $1 increments thereafter.…”

An Initial Investigation of the Effects of Tanning-Related Cues on Demand and Craving for Indoor Tanning

“…As an alternative, behavioral economists have turned to hypothetical purchase tasks (HPTs), a questionnaire wherein participants report how many units of a commodity they would consume across a range of prices (see Roma, Hursh, & Hudja, 2015, for a review of framing consumption as quantity purchased or probability of a single purchase). Nonlinear modeling then yields behavioral economic indices which quantitatively summarize different aspects of demand (described in detail below).…”

“…Nonlinear modeling then yields behavioral economic indices which quantitatively summarize different aspects of demand (described in detail below). For nearly 20 years, HPTs have been used in demand studies for commodities ranging from cigarettes (e.g., Jacobs & Bickel, 1999) and alcohol (e.g., Murphy & MacKillop, 2006) to crude oil (Reed, Partington, Kaplan, Roma, & Hursh, 2013) and non-essential retail goods such as toilet paper (Roma et al, 2015).…”