The Relationship between Perceived and Objective Price-Quality

Four studies were conducted to assess the accuracy with which consumers perceive objective price-quality relationships. Results across four studies indicate that, overall, consumers perceive objective price-quality relationships with only a modest degree of accuracy. However, findings also suggest that the accuracy of consumers’ perceptions is moderated by product type; that is, price-quality perceptions are more accurate for nondurable products than for durable products. The authors conclude that consumers’ price-quality perceptions appear to be a function of general or product-type-specific schemas, rather than independent evaluations of price-quality relationships for individual product categories.