Too close to call: Spatial distance between options influences choice difficulty

Publikation: Beitrag in FachzeitschriftFallbericht (Case report)BeigetragenBegutachtung

Beitragende

  • I.K. Schneider - , Universität zu Köln (Autor:in)
  • J. Stapels - , Universität Bielefeld (Autor:in)
  • S.L. Koole - , Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU) (Autor:in)
  • Norbert Schwarz - , University of Southern California (Autor:in)

Abstract

In language, people often refer to decision difficulty in terms of spatial distance. Specifically, decision-difficulty is expressed as proximity, for instance when people say that a decision was “too close to call”. Although these expressions are metaphorical, we argue, in line with research on conceptual metaphor theory, that they reflect how people think about difficult decisions. Thus, here we examine whether close spatial distance can actually make decision-making harder. In six experiments (total N = 672), participants chose between two choice options presented either close together or far apart. As predicted, close (rather than far) choice options led to more difficulty, both in self-report (Experiment 1A–1C) and behavioral measures (decision-time, Experiment 2 and 3). Identifying a boundary condition, we show that close choice options lead to more difficulty only for within-category choices (Experiment 3). The too-close-to-call effect is theoretically and methodologically relevant for a broad array of research where choice options are visually presented, ranging from social cognition, judgment and decision-making to more applied settings in consumer psychology and marketing.

Details

OriginalspracheEnglisch
Aufsatznummer103939
FachzeitschriftJournal of experimental social psychology
Jahrgang87
PublikationsstatusVeröffentlicht - 2020
Peer-Review-StatusJa
Extern publiziertJa

Externe IDs

Scopus 85076547806

Schlagworte

Bibliotheksschlagworte