ABSTRACT. The evaluability hypothesis posits that when two objects are evaluated separately, whether a given attribute of the objects can differentiate the evaluations of these objects depends on whether the attribute is easy or difficult to evaluate independently. The article discusses how the evaluability hypothesis explains joint-separate evaluation reversal, which is the phenomenon that the rank order of the evaluations of multiple objects changes depending on whether these objects are evaluated jointly or separately. The article presents empirical evidence for the evaluability hypothesis. The final section of the article discusses implications of the hypothesis for issues beyond reversals - in particular for inconsistencies between decisions and their consequences. Decisions are typically made in the joint evaluation mode, and the outcome of a decision is usually experienced (or “consumed”) in the separate evaluation mode. Thus, reversals between joint and separate evaluation may manifest themselves in decision-consumption inconsistencies.
INTRODUCTION
All judgments and decisions are made in one (or some combination) of two basic modes: joint and separate. In the joint evaluation (JE) mode, people are exposed to multiple objects simultaneously and evaluate these objects comparatively. In the separate or single evaluation (SE) mode, people are exposed to only one object and evaluate it in isolation. For example, when shopping for a piano at a music instrument store, we are usually in the joint evaluation (JE) mode because there are typically many pianos for us to compare.
Review the options below to login to check your access.
Log in with your Cambridge Aspire website account to check access.
If you believe you should have access to this content, please contact your institutional librarian or consult our FAQ page for further information about accessing our content.