The effects of attribute non-attendance, simple validation questions, and their interactions on willingness to pay estimates for meat choice experiments

During an online survey, respondents were randomly assigned to a choice experiment for either pork chops or chicken breasts and were then explicitly asked which attributes they did not consider while making their choices. A simple validation question, which directed respondents to choose a specific answer, was also included. Accounting for either stated or inferred attribute non-attendance alone had no statistically significant effect on willingness-to-Pay (WTP) estimates. Those who passed the validation question had statistically significant and higher WTP for some attributes of pork chops and chicken breasts when the variable was interacted with inferred or stated attribute non-attendance (ANA). While use of a validation question appears promising, more research is needed on this point before it can be concluded that ANA alone has no impact on the WTP estimates for food choice experiments.