Which decision-making rule is primarily based on a prior experience with a product?

Affect referral is the decision-making rule that centers on a consumer's previous experiences with a product. This approach involves using emotional or experiential responses from prior interactions to guide future decisions. When consumers rely on affect referral, they consider how they felt about a product in the past—whether it was positive or negative—and use those feelings to influence their current choices.

In many cases, a consumer who had a satisfactory experience with a product in the past may choose to purchase it again based on the positive emotions associated with that experience. This rule highlights the power of personal satisfaction and emotional connection in shaping consumer behavior, reflecting how past encounters can significantly sway future purchasing decisions.

Other options like "wait and see," "important person," and "price-based rule" reference different aspects of decision-making that do not focus primarily on prior experiences with the product itself. Instead, they pertain to consumer strategies that involve either deferring a decision, relying on the opinions of others, or basing choices primarily on pricing, rather than the emotional or experiential attributes linked to previous use.