Do decisions shape preference? Evidence from blind choice.
Psychologists have long asserted that making a choice changes a person's preferences. Recently, critics of this view have argued that choosing simply reveals preexisting preferences, and that all studies claiming that choice shapes preferences suffer from a fundamental methodological flaw. Here we address this question directly by dissociating preexisting preferences from decision making. We studied participants who rated different vacation destinations both before and after making a blind choice that could not be guided by preexisting preferences. As an additional control, we elicited ratings in a condition in which a computer made the decision for the participants. We found that preferences were altered after participants made a blind choice, but not after a computer dictated the decision. The results suggest that just as preferences form choices, choices shape preferences.
Sharot
Tali
T
Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, United Kingdom. t.sharot@fil.ion.ucl.ac.uk
Velasquez
Cristina M
CM
Dolan
Raymond J
RJ
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002755:Choice Behavior; D003071:Cognition; D003073:Cognitive Dissonance; D003657:Decision Making; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D055815:Young Adult