Distinguish between compensatory and noncompensatory rules that guide consumer choice

Noncompensatory Models

There are four major categories of noncompensatory rules that consumer researchers have identified, which are listed as follows:

1. Conjunctive rule - Following the conjunctive rule, consumers set a minimum mental cutoff point for various features and reject any product that fails to meet or exceed this cutoff point across all features.

2. Disjunctive rule - Following the disjunctive rule, consumers set a minimum mental cutoff for various features, which is similar to the conjunctive rule. However, the cutoff point is usually high with the disjunctive rule. The product that meets or exceeds this cutoff on any feature is selected.

3. Lexicographic rule - Following the lexicographic rule, consumers select the product that they believe performs best on the most important feature.

4. Elimination-by-aspects rule (EBA) - Following the EBA rule, consumers set minimum cutoff points for attributes. Beginning with the most important feature, consumers then eliminate options that don't meet or surpass the cutoff point on this important feature, then move on to the next most important feature and repeat the process. Consumers do this until only one option remains and a choice is made.

To illustrate these rules, consider the information presented in Exhibit 13.7.