Analysis of the Bounded Rationality Influence on the Purchase Behavior

Abstract

This article searched to study the decision making process by developing analysis of the purchase

behavior as a resultant of the interaction of a series of behavioral variables. With the intention of

discussing the impact of bounded rationality we searched to understand the use effects of mental

accounting, prospect theory and judgment heuristics in the same experiment. Our aim is to discuss

the effects of this tree approach related to bounded rationality by exploring them in a survey

applied to graduation students as if they were buyers. We tried to assess the use of judgment

heuristics as adjustment and anchoring and the impacts of prospect theory and mental accounting

on their purchase decisions. The result confirmed the influence of bounded rationality on the

purchase decision. This can be seen by the change in their values perceptions when the same

decision context is presented in relative and absolute terms, when the reference price is modified

by including a premium product and when the price estimative are confronted with different

reference values.