Division or subtraction

Abstract

In this day and age, not only quantitative attributes such as price, but also qualitative attributes such as customer satisfaction are constantly measured and quantified. It is no exaggeration to say that almost all goods and services have numerical information. Therefore, it is important to understand how consumers compare numbers. The current article deals with two ways consumers compare numbers: reliance on relative differences versus reliance on absolute differences (i.e., division versus subtraction). This research shows whether one number is more than double the other moderates the reliance on relative differences versus absolute differences. Specifically, the current work aims to show that the reliance on relative differences increases when one number is more than double the other compared to when one number is less than double the other. The effect was found to be mediated by the perceived computational ease of division. The results of four experiments consistently support this conclusion.