Cognitive and Strategic Components of the Explanation Effect,

Abstract

The explanation effect causes an event to seem more likely after the decision maker has explained it. This robust decision phenomenon is generally attributed to cognitive changes that occur when causal explanations are developed, though no direct evidence of such changes has been reported. We report results of an experiment designed to identify both cognitive and strategic causes of the explanation effect. We observed the explanation effect in private explanation conditions, and we isolated predicted changes in problem representations. Further, we found that participants possessing high levels of need for positive self-presentation experienced explanation effects in public, while participants with low levels experienced explanation effects of similar magnitude in both conditions. We conclude that both cognitive and strategic mechanisms cause the explanation effect.