| Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 888583 | Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes | 2013 | 11 Pages |
This paper demonstrates experimentally that the mere fact that an alternative was chosen in the past increases the likelihood that it will be re-chosen in the future, when new alternatives are being offered. The experimental design consists of a new variation of the free-choice paradigm that is immune to Chen and Risen’s (2010) criticism of how results have been interpreted in previous studies of post-decision effects. An additional experiment indicates that once participants have chosen a particular alternative they view its characteristics more positively. I suggest that the new design can be used to study various aspects of the effect of past decisions on future ones. In the present paper, I apply it to show that the allocation of limited resources among various uses may be biased in favor of a particular use if it was preferred to another in a previous situation.
► I modify the free-choice paradigm in order to study choice-effects. ► The experimental design is immune to the critique of previous studies of this topic. ► The mere act of choosing an alternative may induce a favorable attitude to it. ► An alternative chosen in the past is more likely to be re-chosen in the future.
