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The token undermining effect: When and why adding a small reward to a dated outcome makes it less preferred.

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Title: The token undermining effect: When and why adding a small reward to a dated outcome makes it less preferred.
Authors: Jiang, Cheng‐Ming, Chen, Li‐Na, Luo, Qian, Wang, Wen, Zhou, Jing, Ma, Jia‐Tao
Source: British Journal of Psychology. May2025, Vol. 116 Issue 2, p386-408. 23p.
Subjects: Consumer attitudes, Decision making, Marketing, Attention, Reward (Psychology), Motivation (Psychology), Customer satisfaction
Abstract: The mere token strategy, which adds a small reward (token) to an option to increase attractiveness, is widely used in the consumer field. However, we conducted six studies that seek to confirm the 'token undermining effect', where adding a small token to a sooner and smaller reward (SS) paired with a later and larger reward (LL) decreases the preference for the SS. The results showed that the effect persists across various choice sets, participant populations, reward amounts, delays, outcome properties and regardless of whether the scenarios are incentivized. However, an important boundary condition was that the token must share the same nature as the original option. Furthermore, we used mouse cursor tracking methods to examine the underlying process of attention allocation and demonstrated that adding a small token to the SS leads individuals to allocate more attention to the magnitude dimension than to the delay dimension, ultimately decreasing their preference for the SS. Therefore, managers and policymakers should use the mere token strategy with caution as it could backfire. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of British Journal of Psychology is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection
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  Data: The token undermining effect: When and why adding a small reward to a dated outcome makes it less preferred.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Jiang%2C+Cheng‐Ming%22">Jiang, Cheng‐Ming</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Chen%2C+Li‐Na%22">Chen, Li‐Na</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Luo%2C+Qian%22">Luo, Qian</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Wang%2C+Wen%22">Wang, Wen</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Zhou%2C+Jing%22">Zhou, Jing</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Ma%2C+Jia‐Tao%22">Ma, Jia‐Tao</searchLink>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22British+Journal+of+Psychology%22">British Journal of Psychology</searchLink>. May2025, Vol. 116 Issue 2, p386-408. 23p.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Consumer+attitudes%22">Consumer attitudes</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Decision+making%22">Decision making</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Marketing%22">Marketing</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Attention%22">Attention</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Reward+%28Psychology%29%22">Reward (Psychology)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Motivation+%28Psychology%29%22">Motivation (Psychology)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Customer+satisfaction%22">Customer satisfaction</searchLink>
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  Label: Abstract
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  Data: The mere token strategy, which adds a small reward (token) to an option to increase attractiveness, is widely used in the consumer field. However, we conducted six studies that seek to confirm the 'token undermining effect', where adding a small token to a sooner and smaller reward (SS) paired with a later and larger reward (LL) decreases the preference for the SS. The results showed that the effect persists across various choice sets, participant populations, reward amounts, delays, outcome properties and regardless of whether the scenarios are incentivized. However, an important boundary condition was that the token must share the same nature as the original option. Furthermore, we used mouse cursor tracking methods to examine the underlying process of attention allocation and demonstrated that adding a small token to the SS leads individuals to allocate more attention to the magnitude dimension than to the delay dimension, ultimately decreasing their preference for the SS. Therefore, managers and policymakers should use the mere token strategy with caution as it could backfire. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
  Label:
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  Data: <i>Copyright of British Journal of Psychology is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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        Value: 10.1111/bjop.12758
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      – Code: eng
        Text: English
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        PageCount: 23
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      – SubjectFull: Consumer attitudes
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Decision making
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Marketing
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      – SubjectFull: Attention
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      – SubjectFull: Motivation (Psychology)
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      – SubjectFull: Customer satisfaction
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              M: 05
              Text: May2025
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              Y: 2025
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