Less Is Better Effect

What is the less-is-better effect?

The less-is-better effect occurs when an option with less of a desirable attribute receives a higher evaluation than an option with more, especially when the options are judged separately. It is not a general preference for simplicity or fewer choices.

Example: the ice-cream cups

In Hsee’s research, an overflowing cup containing seven ounces of ice cream was valued more highly than an underfilled cup containing eight ounces when each was judged on its own. Direct comparison reversed the preference. The proposed explanation is evaluability: fullness is easier to assess in isolation than the amount of ice cream.

Separate versus joint evaluation

A preregistered replication supported the separate-evaluation pattern overall, but joint-evaluation results were weaker and one ice-cream result depended on outlier exclusions. The evidence supports a context-sensitive judgment effect.

Sources: Less is better: when low-value options are valued more highly than high-value options; Less Is Better in Separate Evaluations Versus More Is Better in Joint Evaluations: Mostly Successful Close Replication and Extension of Hsee (1998).