توهمات مثبت از تداوم اولویت: زمانی که با استفاده از ترجیحات یکسانی باقی می ماند، رفاه بیشتر و رضایت بخش از تصمیمات به دست می آید

Abstract Psychological research has repeatedly demonstrated two seemingly irreconcilable human tendencies. People are motivated towards internal consistency, or acting in accordance with stable, self-generated preferences. Simultaneously though, people demonstrate considerable variation in the content of their preferences, often induced by subtle external influences. The current studies test the hypothesis that decision makers resolve this tension by sustaining illusions of preference consistency, which, in turn, confer psychological benefits. Two year-long longitudinal studies were conducted with graduating students seeking full-time employment. Results show that job seekers perceived themselves to have manifested greater preference consistency than actually exhibited in expressed preferences. Additionally, those harboring illusions of preference consistency experienced less negative affect throughout the decision process, greater outcome satisfaction, and subsequently, received more job offers.

Conclusion In contrast to conventional glorifications of self-awareness, our research into the motivational effects of preference inconsistency highlights instead the costs of accurate self-appraisal. We find evidence to suggest that decision makers espouse a shield that protects them from the self-knowledge that their preferences are in fluctuation: an illusion of preference consistency. Indeed, the psychological benefits conferred by such a practice may stem from the inherent human desire for behavioral and internal consistency, an aspiration that drives people to hold perceptions of preference consistency and to assume that others share this view. Thus, the protection afforded by illusions of preference consistency enables individuals actually exhibiting inconsistent preferences to better cope with stressful situations, experience greater subjective well-being, and attain more favorable outcomes.