Graduation Year
2016
Document Type
Thesis
Degree
Ph.D.
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
Degree Granting Department
Business
Major Professor
Anand Kumar, Ph.D.
Committee Member
Adam W. Craig, Ph.D.
Committee Member
Dipayan Biswas, Ph.D.
Committee Member
Timothy Heath, Ph.D.
Keywords
numerical cognition, time perception, magnitude estimates, fluency
Abstract
Consumers are constantly evaluating quantitative information, such as the prices of different products, the time spent on an activity, or the distance covered during one day. Substantial research in psychology has demonstrated that judgments of quantity in one dimension (e.g., numbers) influence subsequent judgments on another dimension (e.g., time). The present research contributes to a growing body of work by exploring how the shared representation of time, space, and numbers affects consumer perceptions and behaviors.
My first dissertation essay explores how the organization of time on a spatial plane affects temporal judgments, product evaluations, and intertemporal discounting (i.e., time-space interaction). It has been well documented that Western consumers typically arrange temporal sequences following a past-left, future-right spatial pattern. Merging insights gained from numerical cognition and time psychology, the author develops a framework to explain how displaying temporal sequences congruently with this spatial organization of time increases subjective estimations of time and biases consumers toward present rewards.
My second dissertation essay seeks to understand how and why expressing quantitative information in symbolic code (i.e., “6”) compared to verbal code (i.e., “six”) affects magnitude judgments and product evaluations (i.e., time-number interaction). Two rival accounts to explain the symbol-verbal effect are described and tested: (1) a systematic processing account based on Arabic symbols’ perceptual and cognitive features and (2) a fluency account based on the frequency of use and facilitation of processing Arabic symbols. This research has important managerial implications related to the effective communication of quantitative information.
Scholar Commons Citation
Romero, Marisabel, "An Altered Sense of Magnitude: Exploring How the Visual Presentation of Time, Space, and Numbers Can Influence Consumer Judgments and Behaviors" (2016). USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/etd/6371
