When Mental Simulation Hinders Behavior: The Effects of Process-Oriented Thinking on Decision Difficulty and Performance
Debora Viana Thompson, Rebecca W. Hamilton, Petia K. Petrova
Journal of Consumer Research · 2009 · Volume 36 · Issue 4
Abstract
We investigate the effect of process- versus outcome-oriented thinking on consumers’ subjective experiences when choosing among alternatives. In four studies, we show that because process-oriented thinking leads to a dual focus on both means and end benefits, it increases decision difficulty when consumers face substantive trade-offs between desirability and feasibility. This experienced difficulty results in negative consequences for consumers’ subsequent behavior, including greater willingness to postpone choice, lower commitment to the chosen option, and degraded task performance.
Keywords
Cognitive Processes, Judgment and Decision Making, Experimental Design and Analysis (ANOVA)
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