Remember that benefits are at the heart of the value equation, and value is a function of both benefits and costs.
Hedonic criteria are emotional, symbolic, and subjective attributes or benefits that are associated with an alternative. Utilitarian criteria are functional or economic aspects associated with an alternative.
Studies indicate that too much variety actually contributes to feelings of discontent and unhappiness! The term Bounded rationality describes the idea that perfectly rational decisions are not always feasible due to constraints found in information processing.
There are two major types of evaluation processes: affect-based and attribute-based evaluations.
Affect-based evaluations - Consumers evaluate products based on the overall feeling that is evoked by the alternative. An affect-based process is reflected in the statement, "I'm not even sure why I bought this sweater—I just liked it." Emotions and mood states play a big part in affect-based evaluations. Strong feelings also motivate consumers to seek variety as a means of escaping boredom.
Attribute-based evaluations - Consumers evaluate alternatives across a set of attributes that are considered relevant to the purchase situation. The rational decision-making process assumes that consumers carefully integrate information about product attributes and make careful comparisons between products.