Using Cognitive Scripts to Assess the Process of Professional Service Delivery

Abstract

ABSTRACT Cognitive scripts have been hypothesized as expectations concerning the process or delivering a service. While it has not been empirically tested, it is posited that service delivery in agreement with consumers' cognitive scripts should result in a more satisfying service encounter than delivery that does not match consumers' scripts. Using an experimental setting, the current study attempts to test the efficacy of using cognitive scripts to examine the process of professional service delivery and the effect of cognitive script congruence on consumers' summary judgments of the service encounter. The findings indicate that experienced consumers do have scripts for a dental service encounter and it would be reasonable to conclude that this would be the case for other professional services consumers have experienced. Also, deviation from consumers' expected cognitive script docs influence affect toward the professional service provider, satisfaction with the professional service encounter, and consu...