Conflicting results have been reported by Huber & McCann(1982) and Lim, Olshavsky & Kim(1988) when consumers evaluate products. Huber & McCann found that they spontaneously infer missing attributes. However, Lim et al. found no evidence of such spontaneous inferencing unless the inference was explicitly induced.
To clarify these inconsistent results, this study examines the conditions under which spontaneous inferences are more likely to occur, and investigates which factors are likely to mediate the spontaneous inferences. This study also suggests a new method for measuring the inference rate at individual level.
The main results of the present study are as follows ;
1) The proposed model of consumers' spontaneous inference appears to be valid. Experimental results generally support the hypotheses derived from the model.
2) The test results of hypotheses are consistent, irrespective of product characteristics.
3) Consumers may not make as many spontaneous inferences in case their task is to make a choice among products than in case it is to form a preference about the products.
More research is needed to investigate additional conditions detailing the context in which spontaneous inferences occur more or less.
