Is there a mere categorization effect in investment decisions?

This study seeks to replicate and extend the work of Mogilner, Rudnick, and Iyengar (2008) on the mere categorization effect (i.e., placing choice options into categories – even uninformative ones – can increase perceived variety and choice satisfaction among novices). This effect did not extend to the context of investments. We suggest that decision complexity and intangibility are possible boundary conditions such that consumers expend additional cognitive effort rather than rely on heuristics such as perceptual variety cues.