How pictogram arrangements impact consumer optimism and judgments

ABSTRACTFrequency pictograms are one of the most common graphical representations of quantitative information used in communication. The paper shows that individuals react differently to objectively equivalent information when represented in a sorted pictogram versus an unsorted pictogram. We show that individuals form more optimistic judgments when presented with numerical information in a sorted pictogram than in an unsorted pictogram. Using the backdrop of attribute framing across six studies, we demonstrate the aforementioned phenomenon and find evidence of an optimism bias-based underlying mechanism. This paper demonstrates the impact of the perceptual features of pictograms that communicate frequency information in different contexts on consumers’ self-related judgments. Additionally, the paper contributes to the field of attribute framing by demonstrating its effects using a graphical representation of numerical information.KEYWORDS: Pictogramsattribute framingoptimism biasgraphical framinggraphical attribute framing Disclosure statementAll authors certify that they have no affiliations with or involvement in any organization or entity with any financial or non-financial interests in the subject matter or materials discussed in this manuscript.Notes1. We had pre-tested the ‘employment’ scenario where participants were given the employment/unemployment information directly without using the pictograms. Essentially, participants in the positive (negative) frame were told ‘Suppose you are looking for a job in the country of Montenegro. The employment rate (unemployment rate) in Montenegro is 80% (20%).’ The framing effects were significant for this scenario as participants in the positive (80% employment) frame had a significantly higher judgment of the chances of getting a job than the participants in the negative (20% unemployment) frame.2. However, average response does not give the complete picture, as the variance in responses (6.66 in the unsorted condition versus 4.7 in the sorted condition) shows us that the responses by individuals who were shown the sorted pictogram were much closer to the correct answer than those who were shown the unsorted pictogram. The average response being closer to the mean despite the huge variance is a good demonstration of the Galton’s robust mathematical phenomenon of ‘wisdom of the crowd’. (Galton, Citation1907; Surowiecki, Citation2004).Additional informationFundingNo funding was received for preparation of this manuscript.Notes on contributorsGaurav JainGaurav Jain is an Assistant Professor of Marketing at Lally School of Management, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (email: gauraj@rpi.edu). His research interests are numerical cognition, judgment and memory. He also uses psycho-physical methods in his research.Sunaina ShrivastavaSunaina Shrivastava is an Assistant Professor of Marketing at O’Malley School of Management, Manhattan College (email: sshrivastava01@manhattan.edu). Shehas previously served as a senior behavioral scientist in a leading marketing firm Ipsos.Zeynep Ece TolunZeynep Ece Tolun is a Ph.D. Student at Lally School of Management, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (email: tolunz@rpi.edu). She holds a bachelor’s degree from Bilkent University, Turkey. Her research interests are behavioral finance, financial decision-making, and cognitive biases.