How specific and general self-confidence affect assortment decisions

By investigating the influences of 2 types of self-confidence, we tested the assumption that people always prefer a large assortment over a small one when offered a choice of 2 sizes of assortment. Participants were 194 students who were randomly assigned to a high or low specific self-esteem condition, a high or low general self-esteem condition, and a public or private social influence condition group. The results of our experiment demonstrated that people with high specific self-confidence perceived options as distinctive, and preferred a large assortment. However, people with low general self-confidence felt high social anxiety, and preferred a large assortment only when social influence was salient. Under this condition, low general self-confidence also strengthened the effect of specific self-confidence on assortment preference. Implications of our findings are discussed.