Incidental affect influences choice preference among competing alternatives in a modified Affect Misattribution Procedure
Abstract Affective feelings exert a powerful influence on decision making, even when the source of those feelings is incidental, i.e., unrelated to the decision at hand. Research on the role of affect in decision making has typically focused on how incidental affect shapes evaluations of an individu...
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Nature Portfolio
2024-12-01
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-83935-x |
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| author | Ewa Kochanowska Elena Reutskaja Jolie Wormwood |
| author_facet | Ewa Kochanowska Elena Reutskaja Jolie Wormwood |
| author_sort | Ewa Kochanowska |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Affective feelings exert a powerful influence on decision making, even when the source of those feelings is incidental, i.e., unrelated to the decision at hand. Research on the role of affect in decision making has typically focused on how incidental affect shapes evaluations of an individual target, and thus decisions about how to engage with that target. It is less clear, however, if and how individuals use their incidental affective feelings when evaluating and comparing multiple competing targets and deciding which one to choose. To investigate this, we modified the Affect Misattribution Procedure (AMP) to include two competing targets, presented sequentially, that individuals needed to choose between. In two pre-registered studies (N = 196 and N = 214), participants were presented with pairs of landscape images (e.g., beaches, lakes) and asked to choose which image in the pair they liked more. Each landscape was preceded by an affective prime: a briefly flashed image of a face that was either smiling (a positive prime), scowling (a negative prime), or neutral (a neutral prime). We found that participants were significantly more likely to choose landscapes preceded by primes of more positive valence, and this effect was driven by trials on which the positive prime came second. Our studies demonstrate that decision makers use their incidental affective feelings when making choices among competing alternatives, and introduce a novel methodology for understanding the constructive role of affect in preference formation. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-5a145802b0e748f2a15c82efcb1cfb6f |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
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| spelling | doaj-art-5a145802b0e748f2a15c82efcb1cfb6f2025-01-05T12:29:23ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222024-12-0114111310.1038/s41598-024-83935-xIncidental affect influences choice preference among competing alternatives in a modified Affect Misattribution ProcedureEwa Kochanowska0Elena Reutskaja1Jolie Wormwood2Department of Psychology, University of New HampshireDepartment of Marketing, IESE Business SchoolDepartment of Psychology, University of New HampshireAbstract Affective feelings exert a powerful influence on decision making, even when the source of those feelings is incidental, i.e., unrelated to the decision at hand. Research on the role of affect in decision making has typically focused on how incidental affect shapes evaluations of an individual target, and thus decisions about how to engage with that target. It is less clear, however, if and how individuals use their incidental affective feelings when evaluating and comparing multiple competing targets and deciding which one to choose. To investigate this, we modified the Affect Misattribution Procedure (AMP) to include two competing targets, presented sequentially, that individuals needed to choose between. In two pre-registered studies (N = 196 and N = 214), participants were presented with pairs of landscape images (e.g., beaches, lakes) and asked to choose which image in the pair they liked more. Each landscape was preceded by an affective prime: a briefly flashed image of a face that was either smiling (a positive prime), scowling (a negative prime), or neutral (a neutral prime). We found that participants were significantly more likely to choose landscapes preceded by primes of more positive valence, and this effect was driven by trials on which the positive prime came second. Our studies demonstrate that decision makers use their incidental affective feelings when making choices among competing alternatives, and introduce a novel methodology for understanding the constructive role of affect in preference formation.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-83935-xAffectPrimingChoicePreference constructionAffect Misattribution Procedure |
| spellingShingle | Ewa Kochanowska Elena Reutskaja Jolie Wormwood Incidental affect influences choice preference among competing alternatives in a modified Affect Misattribution Procedure Scientific Reports Affect Priming Choice Preference construction Affect Misattribution Procedure |
| title | Incidental affect influences choice preference among competing alternatives in a modified Affect Misattribution Procedure |
| title_full | Incidental affect influences choice preference among competing alternatives in a modified Affect Misattribution Procedure |
| title_fullStr | Incidental affect influences choice preference among competing alternatives in a modified Affect Misattribution Procedure |
| title_full_unstemmed | Incidental affect influences choice preference among competing alternatives in a modified Affect Misattribution Procedure |
| title_short | Incidental affect influences choice preference among competing alternatives in a modified Affect Misattribution Procedure |
| title_sort | incidental affect influences choice preference among competing alternatives in a modified affect misattribution procedure |
| topic | Affect Priming Choice Preference construction Affect Misattribution Procedure |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-83935-x |
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