Abstract
As we go about our grocery shopping, items are often grouped together, such as cans of soup or bunches of oranges. Does this grouping influence the perceived desirability or attractiveness of the objects? In an experiment, we examined the influence of grouping oranges on their overall appeal. Specifically, we compared whether a group of oranges appeared more or less attractive than individual oranges that comprise the set. Observers rated the appeal of briefly presented single oranges, and heterogeneous and homogeneous groups of 4 to 32 oranges. Individual oranges were drawn from a set of images ranging from “ripe” to “moldy.” When the average rating of a set was compared to the averaged ratings of the set members, the averaged ratings of individual set members were generally perceived to be more appealing than the overall average rating of the set. Further, ratings became compressed as sets became more heterogeneous, such that “ripe” sets were rated less appealing than their individual counterparts, and “moldy” sets were rated as more appealing than their individual counterparts. Our results suggest that the perceived attractiveness of a group is less than the sum of its parts, such that presenting objects in groups rather than isolation can bias their perceived attractiveness.