Decision makers have a variety of heuristics at their disposal when they make choices. One of these effort-reducing heuristics is referred to as elimination-by-aspects. When this heuristic is applied, decision makers gradually reduce the number of alternatives in a choice set, starting with the most important one. One cue is evaluated at a time until fewer and fewer alternatives remain in the set of available options (Tversky, 1972). For example, a consumer may first compare a number of television sets on the basis of brand, then screen size and finally price, etc, until only one option remains.
Tversky, A. (1972). Elimination by aspects: A theory of choice. Psychological Review, 79, 281-299.