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Abstract
Stated choice experiments about ecosystem changes involve complex information. This
study examines whether the format in which ecosystem information is presented to
respondents affects stated choice outcomes. Our analysis develops a utility-maximizing
model to describe respondent behavior. The model shows how alternative questionnaire
formats alter respondents’ use of filtering heuristics and result in differences in preference
estimates. Empirical results from a large-scale stated choice experiment confirm that
different format presentations of the same information lead to different preference
parameter estimates and error variances. A tabular format results in choice parameter estimates
with statistically smaller variances than parameters estimated from data obtained
with a text-based format. A text-based format also appears to induce greater use of
decision heuristics than does a tabular format.