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THE CONSUMER INFORMATION OVERLOAD CONTROVERSY AND PUBLIC POLICY
Author(s) -
Rudd Joel
Publication year - 1983
Publication title -
review of policy research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.832
H-Index - 45
eISSN - 1541-1338
pISSN - 1541-132X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1541-1338.1983.tb00732.x
Subject(s) - information overload , phenomenon , confusion , marketing , legislation , business , product (mathematics) , quality (philosophy) , public relations , psychology , political science , law , philosophy , physics , geometry , mathematics , epistemology , quantum mechanics , psychoanalysis
It is widely believed that providing consumers with more product information produces “overload” and leads to confusion and poorer quality consumer decisions. The existence of a consumer information overload phenomenon has been used by marketers and others to argue against regulations and legislation mandating additional consumer information provision. The belief that a consumer information overload phenomenon exists is based largely on misinterpretations of research findings. The present paper reviews the consumer information overload research literature and concludes that existing research data support the contention that provision of more information, rather than producing overload, actually improves consumer decision making. Implications of the information overload research controversy for consumer policy makers are discussed.