The Mere-measurement Effect: Why Does Measuring Purchase Intentions Change

Recent research has demonstrated that merely measuring consumers’ purchase intentions changes their subsequent purchase behavior. Several different alternative explanations have been proposed to explain why this “mere-measurement effect” occurs. However, these explanations have not been tested to date. The purpose of this paper is to test several competing explanations for why measuring intentions changes behavior. The results of seven experiments provide a more clear understanding of the cognitive mechanism through which the mere-measurement effect operates. We find that when asked to provide purchase intentions, consumers are more likely to choose brands for which they hold positive and accessible attitudes, and are less likely to choose brands for which they hold negative and accessible attitudes, compared to a control group of consumers who are not asked an intentions question. We argue that these results provide support for the hypothesis that the mere-measurement effect operates through increasing attitude accessibility.