According to a study published in the latest issue of the Journal of Consumer Research , consumers have a distorted view when comparing information involving numbers because they do not take into account the units in which they are expressed. Generally, the authors write, larger numbers appear to represent larger quantities.
Thus, in their experiments, the researchers found that the majority of consumers perceive that the difference between a warranty of 84 or 108 months for an appliance is much greater than the difference between 7 years and 9 years , despite being identical.
This effect also appears when we make choices about what foods we include in our diet. To demonstrate this, the study authors gave several subjects a choice between an apple and a chocolate bar. The energy content was expressed in kilojoules (247 for the apple, 1029 for the chocolate bar) or in kilocalories (59 and 246 respectively). The participants used to choose the apple when the figures were given in kilojoules , because the caloric difference seemed much greater. When the researchers expressly called their attention to the units in which the information was expressed, the distorted perception disappeared.
