---
title: "The Mere Categorization Effect: How the Presence of Categories Increases Choosers' Perceptions of Assortment Variety and Outcome Satisfaction"
url: "https://conversion.stevebaka.de/studien/10-1086-588698/"
type: "study"
language: de-DE
description: "What is the effect of option categorization on choosers' satisfaction? A combination of field and laboratory experiments reveals that the mere presence of categories, irrespective of their content, positively influences the satisfaction of choosers who are unfamiliar with the choice domain. This “mere categorization effect” is driven by a greater number of categories signaling greater variety among the available options, which allows for a sense of self-determination from choosing. This effect, however, is attenuated for choosers who are familiar with the choice domain, who do not rely on the presence of categories to perceive the variety available."
---
# The Mere Categorization Effect: How the Presence of Categories Increases Choosers' Perceptions of Assortment Variety and Outcome Satisfaction

> The Mere Categorization Effect: How the Presence of Categories Increases Choosers' Perceptions of Assortment Variety and Outcome Satisfaction: What is the effect of option categorization on choosers' satisfaction? A combination of field and laboratory experiments reveals that the mere presence of categories, irrespective of their content, positively influences the satisfaction of choosers who are unfamiliar with the choice domain. This “mere categorization effect” is driven by a greater number of categories signaling greater variety among the available options, which allows for a sense of self-determination from choosing. This effect, however, is attenuated for choosers who are familiar with the choice domain, who do not rely on the presence of categories to perceive the variety available. Evidenzgrad C, Risk of Bias unclear.

## Quelle

Autor:innen: Cassie Mogilner, Tamar Rudnick, Sheena S. Iyengar
Jahr: 2008
Journal/Quelle: Journal of Consumer Research
DOI: 10.1086/588698
APA: Mogilner, C., Rudnick, T., & Iyengar, S. S. (2008). The Mere Categorization Effect: How the Presence of Categories Increases Choosers' Perceptions of Assortment Variety and Outcome Satisfaction. Journal of Consumer Research. https://doi.org/10.1086/588698
Zitationen laut Paper-Korpus: 374


## Forschungsfrage / Summary

What is the effect of option categorization on choosers' satisfaction? A combination of field and laboratory experiments reveals that the mere presence of categories, irrespective of their content, positively influences the satisfaction of choosers who are unfamiliar with the choice domain. This “mere categorization effect” is driven by a greater number of categories signaling greater variety among the available options, which allows for a sense of self-determination from choosing. This effect, however, is attenuated for choosers who are familiar with the choice domain, who do not rely on the presence of categories to perceive the variety available.


## Methode und Evidenzqualität

[Studien](/studien/)typ: Studie
Risk of Bias: unclear
Evidenzgrad: C


## Key Findings

Evidence-Fill Queue: Findings werden aus Volltext, Abstract und Review-Notizen konsolidiert.


## Effektgrößen / Outcomes

Evidence-Fill Queue: Effektgrößen und Outcomes werden aus Volltext-Extraktionen priorisiert.


## Conversion-Implikationen

Evidence-Fill Queue: Conversion-Implikationen werden nur ausgespielt, wenn Mechanismus, Kontext und Messgröße ableitbar sind.


## Limitationen

Evidence-Fill Queue: Limitationen werden aus Risk-of-Bias-, Sample- und Methodikfeldern ergänzt.


## Verknüpfte Konzepte

- [Social Proof](/konzepte/social-proof/)


## Unterstützte Claims

- [Der untersuchte Consumer-Psychology-Effekt ist potenziell relevant für Conversion-Optimierung, benötigt aber noch genauere Claim-Extraktion.](/claims/consumer-psychology-effect-relevant-to-conversion/)


## FAQ

### Worum geht es in dieser Studie?

The Mere Categorization Effect: How the Presence of Categories Increases Choosers' Perceptions of Assortment Variety and Outcome Satisfaction: What is the effect of option categorization on choosers' satisfaction? A combination of field and laboratory experiments reveals that the mere presence of categories, irrespective of their content, positively influences the satisfaction of choosers who are unfamiliar with the choice domain. This “mere categorization effect” is driven by a greater number of categories signaling greater variety among the available options, which allows for a sense of self-determination from choosing. This effect, however, is attenuated for choosers who are familiar with the choice domain, who do not rely on the presence of categories to perceive the variety available. Evidenzgrad C, Risk of Bias unclear.

### Welche Evidenz wird genutzt?

Die Seite nutzt Claims, Studien, Use Cases und Quellen aus dem SurrealDB Knowledge Graph der Conversion-Psychologie-Wissensbasis.

### Ist die Ausgabe auf Deutsch verfügbar?

Ja. Alle menschenlesbaren Inhalte und Agent-Ausgaben sind standardmäßig deutsch.

## Quellen

- Mogilner, C., Rudnick, T., & Iyengar, S. S. (2008). The Mere Categorization Effect: How the Presence of Categories Increases Choosers' Perceptions of Assortment Variety and Outcome Satisfaction. Journal of Consumer Research. https://doi.org/10.1086/588698 [Quelle öffnen](https://doi.org/10.1086/588698)

## JSON-LD

```json
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@graph": [
    {
      "@type": "WebSite",
      "@id": "https://conversion.stevebaka.de/#website",
      "url": "https://conversion.stevebaka.de",
      "name": "conversion.stevebaka.de",
      "description": "Deutschsprachige Wissensbasis und Audit-Plattform für evidenzbasierte Conversion-Psychologie.",
      "publisher": {
        "@id": "https://conversion.stevebaka.de/#organization"
      }
    },
    {
      "@type": "Organization",
      "@id": "https://conversion.stevebaka.de/#organization",
      "name": "conversion.stevebaka.de",
      "url": "https://conversion.stevebaka.de",
      "parentOrganization": {
        "@id": "https://stevebaka.de/#organization"
      },
      "sameAs": [
        "https://stevebaka.de"
      ]
    },
    {
      "@type": "Person",
      "@id": "https://conversion.stevebaka.de/autoren/steve-baka/#person",
      "name": "Steve Baka",
      "url": "https://conversion.stevebaka.de/autoren/steve-baka/",
      "sameAs": [
        "https://stevebaka.de"
      ],
      "jobTitle": "Conversion- und AI-Infrastructure-Berater",
      "knowsAbout": [
        "Conversion-Psychologie",
        "Verkaufspsychologie",
        "Behavioral Science",
        "GraphRAG",
        "SurrealDB",
        "D-A-CH Conversion Optimierung"
      ]
    },
    {
      "@type": "WebPage",
      "@id": "https://conversion.stevebaka.de/studien/10-1086-588698/#webpage",
      "url": "https://conversion.stevebaka.de/studien/10-1086-588698/",
      "name": "The Mere Categorization Effect: How the Presence of Categories Increases Choosers' Perceptions of Assortment Variety and Outcome Satisfaction",
      "description": "What is the effect of option categorization on choosers' satisfaction? A combination of field and laboratory experiments reveals that the mere presence of categories, irrespective of their content, positively influences the satisfaction of choosers who are unfamiliar with the choice domain. This “mere categorization effect” is driven by a greater number of categories signaling greater variety among the available options, which allows for a sense of self-determination from choosing. This effect, however, is attenuated for choosers who are familiar with the choice domain, who do not rely on the presence of categories to perceive the variety available.",
      "inLanguage": "de-DE",
      "isPartOf": {
        "@id": "https://conversion.stevebaka.de/#website"
      },
      "breadcrumb": {
        "@id": "https://conversion.stevebaka.de/studien/10-1086-588698/#breadcrumb"
      },
      "datePublished": "2026-07-01",
      "dateModified": "2026-07-04",
      "mainEntity": {
        "@id": "https://conversion.stevebaka.de/studien/10-1086-588698/#article"
      }
    },
    {
      "@type": "ScholarlyArticle",
      "@id": "https://conversion.stevebaka.de/studien/10-1086-588698/#article",
      "headline": "The Mere Categorization Effect: How the Presence of Categories Increases Choosers' Perceptions of Assortment Variety and Outcome Satisfaction",
      "name": "The Mere Categorization Effect: How the Presence of Categories Increases Choosers' Perceptions of Assortment Variety and Outcome Satisfaction",
      "description": "What is the effect of option categorization on choosers' satisfaction? A combination of field and laboratory experiments reveals that the mere presence of categories, irrespective of their content, positively influences the satisfaction of choosers who are unfamiliar with the choice domain. This “mere categorization effect” is driven by a greater number of categories signaling greater variety among the available options, which allows for a sense of self-determination from choosing. This effect, however, is attenuated for choosers who are familiar with the choice domain, who do not rely on the presence of categories to perceive the variety available.",
      "inLanguage": "de-DE",
      "author": {
        "@id": "https://conversion.stevebaka.de/autoren/steve-baka/#person"
      },
      "publisher": {
        "@id": "https://conversion.stevebaka.de/#organization"
      },
      "mainEntityOfPage": {
        "@id": "https://conversion.stevebaka.de/studien/10-1086-588698/#webpage"
      },
      "datePublished": "2026-07-01",
      "dateModified": "2026-07-04",
      "citation": [
        "https://doi.org/10.1086/588698"
      ],
      "mentions": [],
      "text": "The Mere Categorization Effect: How the Presence of Categories Increases Choosers' Perceptions of Assortment Variety and Outcome Satisfaction: What is the effect of option categorization on choosers' satisfaction? A combination of field and laboratory experiments reveals that the mere presence of categories, irrespective of their content, positively influences the satisfaction of choosers who are unfamiliar with the choice domain. This “mere categorization effect” is driven by a greater number of categories signaling greater variety among the available options, which allows for a sense of self determination from choosing. This effect, however, is attenuated for choosers who are familiar with the choice domain, who do not rely on the presence of categories to perceive the variety available. Evidenzgrad C, Risk of Bias unclear. Quelle. Autor:innen: Cassie Mogilner, Tamar Rudnick, Sheena S. Iyengar Jahr: 2008 Journal/Quelle: Journal of Consumer Research DOI: 10.1086/588698 APA: Mogilner, C., Rudnick, T., & Iyengar, S. S. (2008). The Mere Categorization Effect: How the Presence of Categories Increases Choosers' Perceptions of Assortment Variety and Outcome Satisfaction. Journal of Consumer Research. https://doi.org/10.1086/588698 Zitationen laut Paper Korpus: 374 Forschungsfrage / Summary. What is the effect of option categorization on choosers' satisfaction? A combination of field and laboratory experiments reveals that the mere presence of categories, irrespective of their content, positively influences the satisfaction of choosers who are unfamiliar with the choice domain. This “mere categorization effect” is driven by a greater number of categories signaling greater variety among the available options, which allows for a sense of self determination from choosing. This effect, however, is attenuated for choosers who are familiar with the choice domain, who do not rely on the presence of categories to perceive the variety available. Methode und Evidenzqualität. Studientyp: Studie Risk of Bias: unclear Evidenzgrad: C Key Findings. Evidence Fill Queue: Findings werden aus Volltext, Abstract und Review Notizen konsolidiert. Effektgrößen / Outcomes. Evidence Fill Queue: Effektgrößen und Outcomes werden aus Volltext Extraktionen priorisiert. Conversion Implikationen. Evidence Fill Queue: Conversion Implikationen werden nur ausgespielt, wenn Mechanismus, Kontext und Messgröße ableitbar sind. Limitationen. Evidence Fill Queue: Limitationen werden aus Risk of Bias , Sample und Methodikfeldern ergänzt. Verknüpfte Konzepte. Social Proof Unterstützte Claims. Der untersuchte Consumer Psychology Effekt ist potenziell relevant für Conversion Optimierung, benötigt aber noch genauere Claim Extraktion.",
      "learningResourceType": "Evidence source",
      "isBasedOn": [
        "https://doi.org/10.1086/588698"
      ],
      "about": []
    },
    {
      "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
      "@id": "https://conversion.stevebaka.de/studien/10-1086-588698/#breadcrumb",
      "itemListElement": [
        {
          "@type": "ListItem",
          "position": 1,
          "name": "Startseite",
          "item": "https://conversion.stevebaka.de/"
        },
        {
          "@type": "ListItem",
          "position": 2,
          "name": "The Mere Categorization Effect: How the Presence of Categories Increases Choosers' Perceptions of Assortment Variety and Outcome Satisfaction",
          "item": "https://conversion.stevebaka.de/studien/10-1086-588698/"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "@type": "FAQPage",
      "@id": "https://conversion.stevebaka.de/studien/10-1086-588698/#faq",
      "inLanguage": "de-DE",
      "mainEntity": [
        {
          "@type": "Question",
          "name": "Worum geht es in dieser Studie?",
          "acceptedAnswer": {
            "@type": "Answer",
            "text": "The Mere Categorization Effect: How the Presence of Categories Increases Choosers' Perceptions of Assortment Variety and Outcome Satisfaction: What is the effect of option categorization on choosers' satisfaction? A combination of field and laboratory experiments reveals that the mere presence of categories, irrespective of their content, positively influences the satisfaction of choosers who are unfamiliar with the choice domain. This “mere categorization effect” is driven by a greater number of categories signaling greater variety among the available options, which allows for a sense of self-determination from choosing. This effect, however, is attenuated for choosers who are familiar with the choice domain, who do not rely on the presence of categories to perceive the variety available. Evidenzgrad C, Risk of Bias unclear."
          }
        },
        {
          "@type": "Question",
          "name": "Welche Evidenz wird genutzt?",
          "acceptedAnswer": {
            "@type": "Answer",
            "text": "Die Seite nutzt Claims, Studien, Use Cases und Quellen aus dem SurrealDB Knowledge Graph der Conversion-Psychologie-Wissensbasis."
          }
        },
        {
          "@type": "Question",
          "name": "Ist die Ausgabe auf Deutsch verfügbar?",
          "acceptedAnswer": {
            "@type": "Answer",
            "text": "Ja. Alle menschenlesbaren Inhalte und Agent-Ausgaben sind standardmäßig deutsch."
          }
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}
```