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Positive Illusions of Preference Consistency

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Positive Illusions of Preference Consistency COLUMBIA BUSINESS SCHOOL 1 Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes 98 (2005) 66–87 Positive Illusions of Preference Consistency: www.elsevier.com/locate/obhdp When Remaining Eluded by One's Preferences Yields Greater Subjective Well-Being and Decision Outcomes Positive illusions of preference consistency: When remaining eluded by oneÕs preferences yields greater subjective well-being and decision outcomes RachaelRachael E. Wells, E. Wells, Sheena Sheena S. IyengarIyengar * Columbia University Business School, New York, NY 10027-6902, USA Received 23 March 2004 Available online 11 July 2005 Abstract Psychological research has repeatedly demonstrated two seemingly irreconcilable human tendencies. People are motivated towards internal consistency, or acting in accordance with stable, self-generated preferences. Simultaneously though, people dem- onstrate considerable variation in the content of their preferences, often induced by subtle external influences. The current studies test the hypothesis that decision makers resolve this tension by sustaining illusions of preference consistency, which, in turn, confer psychological benefits. Two year-long longitudinal studies were conducted with graduating students seeking full-time employment. Results show that job seekers perceived themselves to have manifested greater preference consistency than actually exhibited in expressed preferences. Additionally, those harboring illusions of preference consistency experienced less negative affect throughout the decision process, greater outcome satisfaction, and subsequently, received more job offers. Ó 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Keywords: Preference consistency; Cognitive dissonance; Subjective well-being; Self-awareness; Job search We expect our heroes to exhibit decisiveness, stead- hesitate or even avoid making decisions altogether fastness, and resolve. In our society, idealized figures increases accordingly (Iyengar & Jiang, 2004; Iyengar are those principled individuals who unwaveringly up- & Lepper, 2000; Payne, Bettman, & Johnson, 1993). hold their beliefs and resist external and social pressures How do Americans reconcile their desire for steadfast to change (e.g., Maslow, 1954, 1968), while those who conviction, all the while navigating a constantly evolv- are perceived to vacillate are often punished with such ing environment in which their preferences may be ever negative trait ascriptions as immaturity, passivity, and changing? even stagnation. In order to preserve a positive self-im- We address this conflict between our ideals and the age, then, individuals within our culture are motivated reality of preference consistency by harkening back to to perceive themselves and to be perceived by others William James (1890/1950), who proposed that at the as exhibiting choices consistent with their stable prefer- very heart of oneÕs conception of self is a sense of con- ences (Aronson, 1968; Tesser, 2000). Yet, as even mun- stancy over time, rather than flux. The classic theories dane decision opportunities in contemporary American of cognitive consistency and dissonance (Abelson, life become increasingly complex, the likelihood that 1983; Abelson et al., 1968; Festinger, 1957; for a recent preferences will fluctuate and that decision makers will set of reviews see Harmon-Jones & Mills, 1999; Heider, 1958) rely on the assumption that humans are motivated by the pursuit of internal consistency. Studies have * Corresponding author. Fax: +1 212 316 9355. repeatedly demonstrated that when people engage in E-mail address: [email protected] (S.S. Iyengar). behaviors counter to previously stated attitudes, they 0749-5978/$ - see front matter Ó 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.obhdp.2005.05.001 Published in: Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Process COLUMBIA BUSINESS SCHOOL 2 R.E. Wells, S.S. Iyengar / Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes 98 (2005) 66–87 67 tend to alter their attitudes so as to maintain congruence 2004). Rather, people are likely to recite standard per- with their current behavior rather than admit to con- sonal and cultural theories for their behaviors, highlight tradicting their initial views. Furthermore, research on information that confirms existing beliefs, draw upon the escalation of commitment indicates that once choos- accessible thoughts, and prioritize that which is condu- ers publicly commit to a position, they are less likely to cive to self-enhancement (e.g., Nisbett & Wilson, 1977; change that position even if their decision outcomes Sedikides, 1993; Wilson, Hodges, & Lafleur, 1995). Con- prove suboptimal or inconsistent with their previously sequently, the act of introspection serves not as a tool to stated goals and desires (for reviews see Brockner, increase self-awareness, but instead induces individuals 1992; Brockner & Rubin, 1985; Staw & Ross, 1987). to exhibit systematic biases toward upholding unrealisti- Meanwhile, despite the motivation for maintaining cally positive self-perceptions (for reviews of positive stable preferences, empirical studies have shown the mal- illusions see Taylor, 1989; Taylor & Brown, 1988, leability of individualsÕ preferences, even in consequen- 1994). These self-serving illusions are particularly preva- tial decision contexts (e.g., McNeil, Pauker, Sox, & lent when they concern highly valued dimensions of Tversky, 1982; Redelmeier & Shafir, 1995). Examina- self-evaluation (Burger & Cooper, 1979; Sedikides, tions of individualsÕ choices suggest that not only do Gaertner, & Toguchi, 2003), such as desired attributes their revealed preferences fluctuate, but they are also sus- (e.g., Alicke, 1985; Brown, 1986; Dunning, Meyerowitz, ceptible to numerous external influences, such as the way & Holzberg, 1989), favored behaviors (e.g., S. T. Allison, in which choices are framed (Kahneman & Tversky, Messick, & Goethals, 1989; Van Lange, 1991), close rela- 1979, 1984; Tversky & Kahneman, 1981, 1986), the tim- tionships (e.g., Buunk & vanderEijnden, 1997; Rusbult, ing of the preference elicitation relative to the course of Van Lange, Wildschut, Yovetich, & Verette, 2000), agen- the decision process (Barber, Daly, Giannantonio, & cy in events (for a review see Campbell & Sedikides, 1999; Phillips, 1994; Trope & Liberman, 2000, 2003), the Greenwald, 1980; Langer, 1975), and predictions about simultaneity of options under evaluation (Hsee, 1996, oneÕs future (e.g., Fontaine & Smith, 1995; Taylor et al., 1999), and the decision makerÕs emotional state at the 1992; Weinstein, 1980). time of choice (Isen, 1993; Nygren, Isen, Taylor, & Du- Given the documented proclivity toward positive illu- lin, 1996; Slovic, Finucane, Peters, & MacGregor, sions and the desirability for preference consistency, we 2002). The influence of these external factors is so power- propose that decision makers will distort their percep- ful that it may even lead choosers to reverse their initially tions of their own preference stability, thereby engaging stated preferences (Hsee, 1996, 1999; Lichtenstein & Slo- in illusions of preference consistency. Such illusions vic, 1973; for a review see Shafir & LeBoeuf, 2002; Slovic, would serve as a defense mechanism, shielding people 1995; Tversky & Kahneman, 1981). IndividualsÕ choices, from an awareness of preference variability which might then, are less a function of preconceived preferences than otherwise taint their self-images. Accordingly, we would of an evolving state in which preferences are constructed operationalize this illusion as belonging to those individ- during the choice-making process (Payne et al., 1993; uals who maintain the self-perception that their prefer- Payne, Bettman, & Schkade, 1999; Slovic, 1995). ences remain stable, irrespective of actual fluctuations How, though, do decision makers reconcile their desire in the expression and content of their preferences. for internal consistency with the practice of preference We predict that, like positive illusions more generally malleability? One possibility is that decision makers are (e.g., Erez, Johnson, & Judge, 1995; Fournier, de Rid- aware of shifts in their preferences and consciously alter der, & Bensing, 2002; Helgeson, 2003; Kleinke & Miller, them in order to maintain congruency between preferenc- 1998; Murray, Holmes, & Griffin, 1996a; Segerstrom, es and behaviors. Alternatively, decision makers may har- Taylor, Kemeny, & Fahey, 1998; Taylor et al., 1992; bor an illusion of preference consistency in which their Taylor, Lerner, Sherman, Sage, & McDowell, 2003; beliefs in the stability of their preferences are sustained de- Taylor, Wayment, & Collins, 1993), an illusion of pref- spite actual malleability in their revealed preferences. erence consistency will be linked to the psychological A priori, we might expect psychologically healthy benefit of increasing decision makersÕ subjective well-be- decision makers to be adept at detecting contradictions ing. The positive self-image to which self-serving illu- in their thoughts and actions. Certainly, embedded in sions contribute, in turn, bestows affective benefits the practices of psychoanalysts (e.g., Eagle, 2003; Freud, (Taylor & Brown, 1988). Research has also demonstrat- 1957a, 1957b), humanists (e.g., Rogers, 1951, 1961), and ed an association between illusions and the use of effec- cognitive–behavioral therapists (e.g., Beck, 1995) is the tive coping strategies in the face of threat (Brown, goal of training clinical populations to deepen self-in- 1993; Fournier et al., 2002; Segerstrom
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