We like to think that our choices
are entirely the result of our preferences and sometimes restrictions such as
budgetary. What we do not realize is the immensely powerful influence that the
choice environment has on our decisions.
Let me explain briefly when the
choice environment influences our choices and why we fail to recognize / admit
that it does.
Let’s see when the choice environment
plays a role.
Imagine a middle aged Italian lady
named Cesarina. Her entire life she drank only Illy coffee. For her any other
kind of coffee is an insult to her true Italian heritage. When Cesarina goes to
buy coffee from the supermarket she buys only Illy coffee. Moreover, her very
strong preexisting preference makes Cesarina to be immune to all the influences
of the choice environment. It doesn’t matter how the coffee aisle and the shelves
are arranged, Cesarina will always buy Illy Coffee.
I gave an example when the choice
environment has no influence and I am sure that you have some very strong preexisting
preferences of your own. But I bet that these are not many and quite often you
were in a situation of having to choose in the absence of strong and
preexisting preferences.
Did you ever buy a washing
machine, microwave oven, TV set, on-line services (e.g. linked in account),
mobile phone, laptops, tablets, olive oil etc.?
I am sure that at least one of
these things you have bought. The main question is if you knew before starting looking
/ shopping for the product what you wanted? Did you?
Let’s take the example of a
TV-set. Which of the two scenarios is more plausible:
A. You
knowing beforehand that you wanted a 81cm diagonal TV with a resolution of 1920
x 1080 and LED technology, you ordered it and you are very happy with it.
B. You
had a vague idea of how big it should be, you went to the store (may it be
e-shop), browsed around and chose one that was not too big, not too small,
within your budget and had a nice image?
If you agree that option B is
more plausible, then you realize that your preference was not preexistent, but
it was constructed on the spot. In this case the choice environment – the
products in the store and how they were arranged and picked – significantly influenced
your choice.
So, unless you have a very clear
preexisting strong preference, there is a good chance that your choice is
influenced by the choice environment.
Let’s see why we fail to
recognize the influence of the choice environment.
Let’s continue with the TV set
example and imagine that on your way to the parking lot, a very nice person
stops you and asks why you picked that particular type of TV set.
Very likely you are completely
unaware of the influences of the choice environment. Moreover, you might be a
bit confused yourself on the things that lead to your choice. But now you have
made the purchase and in order to simply feel comfortable with yourself, you
come up with different reasons. For example, you might say that this TV has a
large diagonal and it is decently priced, that the brand of the manufacturer is
a prestigious one etc.
All of these might be true, but
they had nothing to do with your choice. They are simply post-rationalizations.
These are simply the explanations you give yourself for the already done action.
Another way of seeing post-rationalization
is to think if these reasons would have predicted your choice before entering
the store. Very likely the answer is No.
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