>A look at rating distributions shows that this is in fact how many people behave.
This is really interesting, do you have anything where I could read more about it?
This is really interesting, do you have anything where I could read more about it?
In particular, the conclusion:
"The reviews on Amazon’s Electronics products very frequently rate the product 4 or 5 stars, and such reviews are almost always considered helpful. 1-stars are used to signify disapproval, and 2-star and 3-stars reviews have no significant impact at all. If that’s the case, then what’s the point of having a 5 star ranking system at all if the vast majority of reviewers favor the product? Would Amazon benefit if they made review ratings a binary like/dislike?"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fX9lj0UdB9s
Around 11:40 he shows evidence of this "dishonest" behavior. As far as I remember, the whole talk was very good. He has some publications on the topic.
But, counter to the OP's point, I wouldn't assume this is an attempt to move the average; I would guess this is for a number of reasons, including because it's too much mental energy to decide if a product (film) is worth four or five stars, if you rate something you are often just trying to say "liked it" or "didn't like it."