Generalizing from negative experiences

Consumers often form firm beliefs about the future performance of a vendor based on an initial interaction with that vendor. Research in decision science suggests that generalizing from small samples is ill-advised but nonetheless common. A smaller stream of research indicates sensitivity to the representativeness of a small sample. We argue that perceived representativeness depends on the causal inferences prompted by the nature of the consumption experience. Moreover, such inferences may be so specific to the consumption experience that broad statements about consumers' propensity to generalize from one experience to others may themselves be ill-advised.