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Perceived inflation: The role of product accessibility and attitudes towards inflation

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  • Del Missier, Fabio
  • Ranyard, Rob
  • Bonini, Nicolao

Abstract

Little is known about the psychological mechanisms underlying judgments of perceived inflation as empirical evidence is sparse. In two studies, we investigated two factors that are expected to play a significant role in global judgments of perceived inflation: product accessibility and attitudes towards inflation. In Study 1 (N=253), primed participants retrieved five products whose prices had increased (or decreased) in the past year before expressing a judgment of past inflation (versus non-primed participants with no retrieval task). In Study 2 (N=101) participants were merely exposed to a series of products, and asked to estimate their frequency of purchase, before judging past inflation. In one condition, the prices of the majority of products had actually increased in the last year, while in another condition they had decreased. In both studies, attitudes towards inflation were also measured. Product priming consistently affected inflation judgments in the direction of an assimilation effect. Also, more negative attitudes towards inflation were associated with higher judgments of perceived inflation. Path analysis confirmed that both product accessibility and attitudes are potential bases for judgments of perceived inflation. These findings suggest that multiple psychological influences may underlie global judgments of perceived inflation.

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  • Del Missier, Fabio & Ranyard, Rob & Bonini, Nicolao, 2016. "Perceived inflation: The role of product accessibility and attitudes towards inflation," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 97-106.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:joepsy:v:56:y:2016:i:c:p:97-106
    DOI: 10.1016/j.joep.2016.05.008
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    Cited by:

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    2. Bruine de Bruin, Wändi & van der Klaauw, Wilbert & van Rooij, Maarten & Teppa, Federica & de Vos, Klaas, 2017. "Measuring expectations of inflation: Effects of survey mode, wording, and opportunities to revise," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 45-58.
    3. Sara Suarez-Fernandez & Maria Jose Perez-Villadoniga & Juan Prieto-Rodriguez, 2018. "Are We (Un)Consciously Driven by First Impressions? Price Declarations vs. Observed Cinema Demand when VAT Increases," ACEI Working Paper Series AWP-02-2018, Association for Cultural Economics International, revised Jul 2018.
    4. Pooja Kapoor & Sujata Kar, 2022. "A Critical Evaluation of the Consumer Confidence Survey from India," Economic Studies journal, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences - Economic Research Institute, issue 7, pages 172-198.
    5. Corduas, Marcella, 2022. "Gender differences in the perception of inflation," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Price change; Perceived inflation; Product accessibility; Priming; Attitudes;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D14 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Household Saving; Personal Finance
    • D91 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making

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