Are Men More Rational than Women when Purchasing Cars? A Cross-cultural Comparison.

Resumo

The main goal of the study was to identify the type of judgment used in Brazil and in the United States of America relative to the purchase of automobiles and the relevance of Human Values in the evaluation used, 542 Brazilians and 449 North Americans filled out the List of Values (LOV) (Kahle & Kennedy, 1988) and the Meaning and Judgment Scale (Allen, 2000). The types of judgment in Brazil and the United States were compared using T-Tests, the influence of demographic factors was investigated through the use of MANCOVA and the ability of human values in predicting the type of judgment was calculated using stepwise regressions. The results suggested that in Brazil the judgment for purchasing a car is predominantly affective, while in the United States it is predominantly piecemeal. In both countries Women scored higher in piecemeal judgment for car purchase. The values of “excitement” and “being well respected” are related to affective judgment in both countries while “personal fulfillment” is related to piecemeal judgment in Brazil and the United States.