Inducing preference reversals in aesthetic choices for paintings: Introducing the contrast paradigm
Abstract
Understanding what leads people to reverse their choices is important in many domains.
We introduce a contrast paradigm for studying reversals in choices - here between pairs of
abstract paintings - implemented in both within-subject (Experiment 1; N = 320) and between-
subject (Experiment 2; N = 384) designs. On each trial, participants chose between a
pair of paintings. A critical pair of average-beauty paintings was presented before and after
either a reversal or control block. In the reversal block, we made efforts to bias preference
away from the chosen average-beauty painting (by pairing it with more-beautiful paintings)
and toward the non-chosen average-beauty painting (by pairing it with less-beautiful paintings).
Meta-analysis revealed more reversals after reversal blocks than after control blocks,
though only when the biasing manipulations succeeded. A second meta-analysis revealed
that reversals were generally more likely for participants who later misidentified their initial
choice, demonstrating that memory for initial choices influences later choices. Thus, the
contrast paradigm has utility both for inducing choice reversals and identifying their causes.
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