Attributes: Less or More?

We provide a model of individual choice in which the decision maker is constrained and chooses from a subset of the available alternatives given a set of attributes. We introduce an attribute competition filter which provides conditions under which an alternative continues to be considered from a subset of alternatives and a subset of attributes. We use two axioms to characterize a rational choice function from the consideration sets, Single Reversal in Attributes (SRA) and Contraction Consistency with Fixed Attributes (CCFA). The former only allows for a single reversal in choice from a subset of the attributes, while the latter requires choices to be contraction consistent. We show that a choice function from consideration sets under attributes is rationalizable if and only if the choice function satisfies SRA and CCFA. In another section, we consider the dual problem: The alternatives considered are exogenously visible i.e. all the alternatives are considered and limited attention is paid to the attributes available while the preference relation is over the set of alternatives via individual attributes. JEL classification: D00, D01 Keywords: limited attention, attributes, choice reversals