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臺大管理論叢
第
26
卷第
2
期
91
Combined with the inference from H1 that the difference in the perceived price
magnitude between nine and zero-ending prices is greater in the separate evaluation
condition than in the joint evaluation condition, we further propose that there is an
interaction among the following: the leftmost digits, which are either the same or different,
the two evaluation modes, and the difference in the perceived price magnitude between nine-
and zero-ending digits. This inference leads to Hypothesis 4, which states:
H4: There is an interaction among the same and different leftmost digits, the two
evaluation modes on the difference in the perceived price magnitude between nine-
and zero-ending digits, such that the nine-ending effect with different leftmost
digits is greater in the SE condition than JE condition, although no nine-ending
effect occurs in either condition when the leftmost digits are the same.
3.3.1 Method
Two hundred seventy undergraduate students (one hundred fifty-eight males and one
hundred twelve females) were recruited from a large southern university. Two factors were
utilized: the same and different leftmost digits, with three levels: separate nine-ending,
separate zero-ending, and joint nine-ending and zero-ending figures. The stimuli for this
study were the same as in Study 1, and the prices of S-branded items in the same leftmost
group (the experiment group) were manipulated so they had nine-ending prices ($1.19,
$2.39, $3.59), whereas prices of K-branded items were manipulated so they had zero-ending
prices one cent higher ($1.20, $2.40, $3.60). Participants were randomly divided into three
subgroups. Each subgroup made its evaluations in one of the three modes: the SE of nine-
ending prices, SE of zero-ending prices, and the JE of both ending prices. With the exception
of the prices in the experiment group, all of the price manipulations in Study 3 were the same
as in Study 1.
3.3.2 Results
The perceived price magnitude was submitted to an ANOVA and the results are shown
in Table 3. First, the results of the comparisons among the evaluation modes (SE and JE),
same and the different leftmost digits, and the difference of the perceived price magnitude of
nine- and zero-ending digits were significant (nail clippers:
F
(3,56) = 54.160,
p
< 0.01;
battery:
F
(3,56) = 13.539,
p
< 0.01; baseball cap:
F
(3,56) = 8.616,
p
< 0.01). Second, the
difference in the mean price magnitude perception in the separate group between nine-ending
and zero-ending prices in the same and different leftmost digits were significant in
comparison (nail clippers:
F
(1,28) = 43.978,
p
< 0.01; battery:
F
(1,28) = 10.560,
p
< 0.01;