Furthermore, one of the most robust findings associated with individuals higher (vs. lower) in need for structure is that they are more likely to engage in stereotyping—the oversimplified tendency to categorize targets and view them not as distinct objects, but instead as members of a group about which generalized knowledge is already pos- sessed (Kaplan, Wanshula, and Zanna 1993; Moskowitz 1993; Naccarato 1989; Neuberg and Newsom 1993; Pilkington and Lydon 1997; Schaller et al. 1995). One way
to stereotype products is to categorize them based on price (e.g., high or low). Once the categories are formed, cogni- tive consistency should lead consumers to ascribe rela- tively higher quality to the high-priced group and lower quality to the low-priced group. Hence we propose:
H1: Power distance belief is positively associated with the tendency to make price-quality judgments.
H2: The relationship between power distance belief and price-quality judgments is mediated by need for structure.
Factors That Strengthen or Weaken the Tendency to Order
We also examine factors that enhance or diminish the re- lationship between power distance belief and price-quality judgments to better understand the role of need for struc- ture as the underlying mechanism. As Thompson et al. (2001) note, the need for structure is a primary and funda- mental human goal because structure provides meaning to the world. “Without structuring [stimuli in the environment] into coherent units that provide meaning, the world would be experienced as chaos. This is a disturbing and un- settling state that people are motivated to avoid/reduce” (19). Thus all humans—including high and low power distance belief individuals—are motivated to reduce randomness and chaos in their surroundings, leading them to prefer structure and order (Cutright 2012), although high power distance belief individuals are more motivated to do so as it brings order to society and allows unambiguous allocation of roles and rigid structure of relationships (Carl et al. 2004). Although several factors impact the need for structure, we focus on price salience, which serves as a boundary condition on our effects for reasons noted presently