title: Differential impact of affective and cognitive attributes on preference under deliberation and distraction.
abstract: Two experiments were designed to test the hypothesis that affective information looms relatively larger than cognitive information when individuals are distracted for a period of time compared to when they engage in deliberative thinking. In two studies, participants were presented with information about 4 decision alternatives: An affective alternative that scored high on affective attributes but low on cognitive attributes, a cognitive alternative with the opposite trade-off, and two fillers. They were then asked to indicate their attitudes toward each of four decision alternatives either immediately, after a period of deliberation, or after a period of distraction. The results of both experiments demonstrated that participants significantly preferred the affective alternative to the cognitive alternative after distraction, but not after deliberation. The implications for understanding when and how unconscious thought may lead to better decisions are being discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Ningbo University Ningbo, China.
authors.forename: Zuo-Jun
authors.initials: ZJ
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Social and Cultural Psychology, Behavioral Science Institute, Radboud University Nijmegen, Netherlands.
authors.forename: Kai-Qin
authors.initials: KQ
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Ningbo University Ningbo, China.
authors.forename: Jiao-Jiao
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Ningbo University Ningbo, China.
authors.forename: Ai
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Advertising, Xiamen University Xiamen, China.
authors.forename: Fei
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Wang
keywords: affective; cognitive; deliberation; distraction; unconscious thought