Intuition First or Reflection Before Judgment? The Impact of Evaluation Sequence on Consumer Ratings

As online reviews increasingly drive consumer decisions, the impact of review interface design on rating authenticity remains under-explored. This research investigates how evaluation sequence ("Rating-First" vs. "Review-First") influences consumer ratings through three experiments and a large-scale secondary data analysis. The results reveal a significant polarization effect: in high-quality service contexts, the "Rating-First" sequence (vs. "Review-First") increases overall ratings, whereas in low-quality contexts, it leads to significantly lower ratings. This mechanism is driven by a serial mediation path of affective heuristics and cognitive effort. Furthermore, product attributes moderate this effect, with hedonic products amplifying the rating extremity compared to utilitarian ones. Secondary data from Yelp and Letterboxd confirm these findings, showing that the "Rating-First" platform (Yelp) exhibits a polarized bimodal distribution, while the "Review-First" platform (Letterboxd) shows more concentrated ratings. In conclusion, this research reveals how evaluation sequence shapes consumer ratings through affective and cognitive paths from an information-processing perspective. These findings extend the theoretical understanding of the online review formation process and offer practical insights for platforms to optimize interface design and enhance rating authenticity and credibility.