PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Consumers make decisions based on how and why products are recommended online

2021-05-04
(Press-News.org) UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- As more people go online for shopping, understanding how they rely on e-commerce recommendation systems to make purchases is increasingly important. Penn State researchers now suggest that it's not just what is recommended, but how and why it's recommended, that helps to shape consumers' opinions.

In a study, the researchers investigated how people reacted to two product recommendation systems. The first system generated recommendations based on the user's earlier purchases -- often referred to as content-based recommendation systems. The second provided recommendations based on what other people bought -- called collaborative recommendation systems.

The researchers, who report their findings in the Journal of Advertising, found that people who like to think and solve problems for themselves -- a personality type the researchers describe as "high need for cognition" -- find content-based recommendations more persuasive. However, those who are low in their need for cognition are more persuaded by collaborative recommendation systems, which may serve as a signal that other buyers have already vetted the product for them.

The nature of the recommendation system and its degree of confidence in suggesting the right products can be very important in guiding people when making online purchases, said S. Shyam Sundar, James P. Jimirro Professor of Media Effects in the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications and co-director of the Media Effects Research Laboratory.

"In the pre-Internet era, before artificial intelligence, we would ask another person at a cocktail party, 'I heard you went to Italy, can you give me some recommendations, I'm going there next month,' as a way of gathering information for making our decisions," said Sundar, who is also an affiliate of Penn State's Institute for Computational and Data Sciences. "Now, we go online and can access information from just about everybody who has gone to Italy last month, not just the friend you ran into at the cocktail party. You are now able to get that information about the collective experience of others, as well as how it squares with your own background and prior travels."

According to Mengqi Liao, a doctoral student in mass communication and first author of the paper, a subtle "bandwagon effect" may be persuading people.

"From a layperson's perspective, we might not know that these are actually two different recommendation systems," said Liao. "One system might just tell the customer that the recommendation is based on what they bought before. But the collaborative recommendation system conveys that a lot of other people bought this product, which adds another layer of persuasive appeal."

The researchers also found that the effectiveness of the recommendation systems was tied to the type of product that the system recommended. When making decisions about experiences, such as movies, travel destination and dining, consumers with a high need for cognition were more likely to respond to information about the extent to which the recommended product reflects their personal preferences -- expressed in terms of percentage match of products recommended by content-based filtering systems.

However, consumers with low need for cognition preferred collaborative filtering because they were more persuaded by the percentage of other people who purchased the recommended item, which also promoted their intentions to buy the item.

Such differences were not found for recommendations of "search products," information about which can be obtained by searching online. Both personality types preferred collaborative recommendation systems.

"You can think of it as a sort of cognitive outsourcing," said Sundar. "A customer might see the ad for a smart watch, for example, and see the features, but think, 'I'm not going to do the hard work of examining all the details and coming to a conclusion of which is better, I'll just outsource this to others.' If they say it's a good smart watch, then they'll buy it."

According to Liao, most research into recommendation systems focuses on optimizing the suggestions of these systems. These findings suggest that developers may need to consider other factors, such as personality types and product types, for improving the user experience of their systems, rather than on focusing solely on the accuracy of their algorithm's suggestions.

"A lot may depend on how users receive the information on the recommendations provided by the systems," said Liao. "It matters why these systems are providing the recommendations for products and experiences."

The researchers recruited 469 people on an online crowdsourced microtask site for the study and randomly assigned them to an experimental website that either used a collaborative or content filtering algorithm.

For collaborative systems, the researchers used a percentage range to indicate how many similar people used the recommended product -- or percentage match -- and serve as a cue for the bandwagon effect. For content-based systems, the same percentage numbers were used to suggest the extent to which the recommended product matched the consumer's personal characteristics based on their user profile. There were three levels of percentage match indicators -- low, medium and high.

In testing the two different types of products -- search and experience -- the researchers used a smart watch recommendation as an example of a search product and a tourism destination recommendation to explore participants' reactions to experience products.

Before they browsed the e-commerce site, all participants responded to a series of questions to determine whether they were high need for cognition, or low need for cognition, personality types.

Because the researchers only tested two products and two common recommendation systems, future research could look at the psychological effects of other systems and investigate other types of products. The researchers said this could help verify the validity of their findings.

INFORMATION:



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

UTEP study examines movement in children with autism

UTEP study examines movement in children with autism
2021-05-04
EL PASO, Texas -- For more than a year, researchers at The University of Texas at El Paso's Stanley E. Fulton Gait Research & Movement Analysis Lab in the College of Health Sciences have been using real-time 3D animation to investigate motor impairments in children who have autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Their aim is to understand how children with autism can learn motor skills, so that they can receive effective therapies. The results of their study, titled "Children With Autism Exhibit More Individualized Responses to Live Animation Biofeedback Than Do Typically Developing Children," were recently published in the journal of Perceptual and Motor Skills. The paper's release coincides with National Autism Awareness Month in April. "The greatest takeaway from this study is that when teaching ...

Health ads in users' customized online sites may evoke negative reactions

2021-05-04
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Tweaking the look of a social media profile may subtly alter a person's reaction to the health messages that appear on that site, according to researchers. They add that these reactions could influence whether the users heed the advice of those messages. In a study, the researchers found that people who gained a feeling of control when they customized an online website were more likely to perceive the health message as a threat to their freedom, lowering the chance that they will adopt the message's advice. On the other hand, when customization bolstered the users' sense of identity, they did not resent the message as much and were more willing to consider the ads' recommended behavioral changes, according to the researchers. "In ...

Housing subsidies reduce health care costs for vulnerable veterans

2021-05-03
Ensuring that veterans have stable housing not only reduces homelessness but also slashes the cost of providing them with publicly funded health care, according to a national study led by University of Utah Health scientists. The researchers found that veterans who received temporary financial assistance (TFA) from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to acquire or retain housing had fewer hospital visits and an average reduction in health care costs of $2,800 over a two-year period than veterans who did not receive this benefit. The researchers say this model could help non-profit organizations and other federal, state, and local governments better serve homeless Americans who are not veterans. "Getting ...

33% of neighborhoods in largest US cities were 'pharmacy deserts'

2021-05-03
Black and Latino neighborhoods in the 30 most populous U.S. cities had fewer pharmacies than white or diverse neighborhoods in 2007-2015, USC research shows, suggesting that 'pharmacy deserts'- like so-called food deserts-may be an overlooked contributor to persistent racial and ethnic health disparities. Pharmacies are increasingly vital points of care for essential health services. In addition to filling prescriptions to treat chronic health conditions, pharmacists dispense emergency doses of naloxone to reverse opioid overdoses, contraceptives to prevent unplanned pregnancy and COVID-19 testing and vaccinations. But ...

New research shows benefits of deworming expectant mothers to their infants

2021-05-03
More than 25% of the world's population (greater than 1.5 billion people) face the burden of soil-transmitted helminth (STH) infections, a species of intestinal parasite whose eggs develop in the soil before finding a new host. The main cause of this high infection rate is lack of access to adequate sanitation facilities (toilets) and the consequent contamination of the environment with human feaces. While universal access to adequate sanitation is one of the sustainable development goals, parasite burdens are still causing harm. Fortunately, deworming medicines are highly effective and safe. Researchers from Syracuse University, the World Health Organization, ...

Speeding new treatments

2021-05-03
A year into the COVID-19 pandemic, mass vaccinations have begun to raise the tantalizing prospect of herd immunity that eventually curtails or halts the spread of SARS-CoV-2. But what if herd immunity is never fully achieved - or if the mutating virus gives rise to hyper-virulent variants that diminish the benefits of vaccination? Those questions underscore the need for effective treatments for people who continue to fall ill with the coronavirus. While a few existing drugs show some benefit, there's a pressing need to find new therapeutics. Led by The University of New Mexico's Tudor Oprea, MD, PhD, scientists ...

Mutant corn gene boosts sugar in seeds, leaves, may lead to breeding better crop

Mutant corn gene boosts sugar in seeds, leaves, may lead to breeding better crop
2021-05-03
An abnormal build up of carbohydrates -- sugars and starches -- in the kernels and leaves of a mutant line of corn can be traced to one misregulated gene, and that discovery offers clues about how the plant deals with stress. That is the conclusion of Penn State researchers whose previous study discovered the Maize ufo1 gene responsible for creating the mutant corn line. They now are assessing its effects and potential for inclusion in breeding new lines of corn better able to thrive in a warming world. The finding of higher sugar levels in plant tissues in their latest study is just ...

Using social values for profit cheapens them, a new study cautions

Using social values for profit cheapens them, a new study cautions
2021-05-03
May 3, 2021 Using social values for profit cheapens them, a new study cautions. Toronto - Businesses sometimes align themselves with important values such as a clean environment, feminism, or racial justice, thinking it's a win-win: the value gets boosted along with the company's bottom line. But be careful, warns new research from the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management. Using these values primarily for self-interested purposes such as profit or reputation can ultimately undermine their special status and erode people's commitment to them. "It sets a different norm for appropriate use of the value," says research author Rachel Ruttan, an assistant professor of organizational behaviour and human resources at the Rotman School, who ...

Bai lab develops stable, efficient, anode-free sodium battery

2021-05-03
When it comes to batteries, lithium-ion are the best we have as far as energy density and convenience. For now. The Washington University in St. Louis lab of Peng Bai, assistant professor in the Department of Energy, Environmental & Chemical Engineering in the McKelvey School of Engineering, has developed a stable sodium ion battery that is highly efficient, will be less expensive to make and is significantly smaller than a traditional lithium ion battery due to the elimination of a once-necessary feature. "We've found that the minimal is maximum," ...

Local impacts from fracking the Eagle Ford

2021-05-03
Hydraulic fracturing to extract trapped fossil fuels can trigger earthquakes. Most are so small or far from homes and infrastructure that they may go unnoticed; others can rattle windows, sway light fixtures and jolt people from sleep; some have damaged buildings. Stanford University geophysicists have simulated and mapped the risk of noticeable shaking and possible building damage from earthquakes caused by hydraulic fracturing at all potential fracking sites across the Eagle Ford shale formation in Texas, which has hosted some of the largest fracking-triggered earthquakes in the United States. Published ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Modesty and boastfulness – perception depends on usual performance

Do sweeteners increase your appetite? New evidence from randomised controlled trial says no 

Women with obesity do not need to gain weight during pregnancy, new study suggests

Individuals with multiple sclerosis face substantially greater risk of hospitalisation and death from COVID-19, despite high rates of vaccination

Study shows obesity in childhood associated with a more than doubling of risk of developing multiple sclerosis in early adulthood

Rice Emerging Scholars Program receives $2.5M NSF grant to boost STEM education

Virtual rehabilitation provides benefits for stroke recovery

Generative AI develops potential new drugs for antibiotic-resistant bacteria

Biofuels could help island nations survive a global catastrophe, study suggests

NJIT research team discovering how fluids behave in nanopores with NSF grant

New study shows association of historical housing discrimination and shortfalls in colon cancer treatment

Social media use may help to empower plastic surgery patients

Q&A: How to train AI when you don't have enough data

Wayne State University researchers uncover potential treatment targets for Zika virus-related eye abnormalities

Discovering Van Gogh in the wild: scientists unveil a new gecko species

Small birds spice up the already diverse diet of spotted hyenas in Namibia

Imaging detects transient “hypoxic pockets” in the mouse brain

Dissolved organic matter could be used to track and improve the health of freshwaters

Indoor air quality standards in public buildings would boost health and economy, say international experts

Positive associations between premenstrual disorders and perinatal depression

New imaging method illuminates oxygen's journey in the brain

Researchers discover key gene for toxic alkaloid in barley

New approach to monitoring freshwater quality can identify sources of pollution, and predict their effects

Bidirectional link between premenstrual disorders and perinatal depression

Cell division quality control ‘stopwatch’ uncovered

Vaccine protects cattle from bovine tuberculosis, may eliminate disease

Andrew Siemion to receive the SETI Institute’s 2024 Drake Award

New study shows how the Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus enters our cells

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy proves effective for locally advanced penile squamous cell carcinoma

Study flips treatment paradigm in bilateral Wilms tumor, shows resistance to chemotherapy may point toward favorable outcomes

[Press-News.org] Consumers make decisions based on how and why products are recommended online