Embedding multiple heuristics into choice models: An exploratory analysis

Contrary to the usual assumption of fixed, well-defined and context independent preferences, individuals are likely to approach a choice task using rules and heuristics that are dependent on the choice environment. More specifically, heuristics that are defined by the local choice context, such as the gains or losses of an attribute value relative to the other attributes, seem to matter significantly. Recent empirical findings also demonstrate that previous choices made by respondents and previous choice tasks shown to respondents can affect the current choice outcome, indicating a form of inter-dependence across choice sets.