Where there is a way, is there a will? The effect of future choices on self-control.

Choices often involve self-control conflicts such that options that are immediately appealing are less desirable in the long run. In the current research, the authors examine how viewing such a choice as one of a series of similar future choices rather than as an isolated decision decreases the preference for items requiring self-control. The authors show that (a) in a choice between a vice and a virtue, the share choosing vice increases when the decision is presented as one of a series of similar future choices versus when the same choice is viewed in isolation, and (b) the overall share choosing a vice increases when decisions are seen in connection with similar future choices. The findings contrast with the general wisdom that broader choice frames lead to the exercise of greater self-control. The authors propose that the context of similar future choices allows people to optimistically believe that they will choose a virtue in the future choice and hence provides them with a guilt-reducing justification to not exercise self-control in the present.

[1]  Russell M. Barefield,et al.  The accuracy of analysts' forecasts of earnings per share , 1975 .

[2]  G. Ainslie.  Specious reward: a behavioral theory of impulsiveness and impulse control. , 1975, Psychological bulletin.

[3]  D. A. Kenny,et al.  The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. , 1986, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[4]  C. Steele.  The Psychology of Self-Affirmation: Sustaining the Integrity of the Self , 1988 .

[5]  Shelley E. Taylor,et al.  Illusion and well-being: a social psychological perspective on mental health. , 1988, Psychological bulletin.

[6]  W. Mischel,et al.  Delay of gratification in children. , 1989, Science.

[7]  I. Simonson.  The Effect of Purchase Quantity and Timing on Variety-Seeking Behavior , 1990 .

[8]  Stephen J. Hoch,et al.  Time-inconsistent Preferences and Consumer Self-Control , 1991 .

[9]  G. W. Fischer,et al.  Preferences for separating or combining events. , 1991, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[10]  D. Prelec,et al.  Negative Time Preference , 1991 .

[11]  G. W. Fischer,et al.  Preferences for separating or combining events. , 1991, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[12]  N. Sanders,et al.  Journal of behavioral decision making: "The need for contextual and technical knowledge in judgmental forecasting", 5 (1992) 39-52 , 1992 .

[13]  Michael S. Duke,et al.  Raise the Red Lantern , 1993 .

[14]  R. Baumeister,et al.  Losing Control: How and Why People Fail at Self-Regulation , 1994 .

[15]  R. Buehler,et al.  Exploring the "planning fallacy": Why people underestimate their task completion times. , 1994 .

[16]  R. Baumeister,et al.  Personal narratives about guilt: Role in action control and interpersonal relationships. , 1995 .

[17]  Radhika Puri,et al.  Measuring and Modifying Consumer Impulsiveness: A Cost-Benefit Accessibility Framework , 1996 .

[18]  G. Loewenstein.  Out of control: Visceral influences on behavior , 1996 .

[19]  J. Ouellette,et al.  Abandoning Unrealistic Optimism: Performance Estimates and the Temporal Proximity of Self-Relevant Feedback , 1996 .

[20]  M. Strahilevitz,et al.  Donations to Charity as Purchase Incentives: How Well They Work May Depend on What You are Trying to Sell , 1998 .

[21]  Cynthia Barnhart,et al.  Consumption Self-Control by Rationing Purchase Quantities of Virtue and Vice , 1998 .

[22]  B. Shiv,et al.  Heart and Mind in Conflict: The Interplay of Affect and Cognition in Consumer Decision Making , 1999 .

[23]  G. Loewenstein,et al.  Mixing virtue and vice: combining the immediacy effect and the diversification heuristic , 1999 .

[24]  Angela Y. Lee,et al.  The Effects of Positive Mood on Memory , 1999 .

[25]  David Laibson,et al.  Commentary on “Choice Bracketing” by Read, Loewenstein and Rabin , 1999 .

[26]  Daniel Read,et al.  Choice Bracketing , 1999 .

[27]  R. Dhar,et al.  Making Complementary Choices in Consumption Episodes: Highlighting versus Balancing: , 1999 .

[28]  A. Tversky,et al.  Choices, Values, and Frames , 2000 .

[29]  N. Epley,et al.  Feeling "holier than thou": are self-serving assessments produced by errors in self- or social prediction? , 2000, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[30]  H. Rachlin.  The Science of Self-Control , 2004 .

[31]  R. Dhar,et al.  Consumer Choice between Hedonic and Utilitarian Goods , 2000 .

[32]  K. Kirby,et al.  Making choices in anticipation of similar future choices can increase self-control. , 2001, Journal of experimental psychology. Applied.

[33]  R. Giner-Sorolla,et al.  Guilty pleasures and grim necessities: affective attitudes in dilemmas of self-control. , 2001, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[34]  I. Simonson,et al.  Earning the Right to Indulge: Effort as a Determinant of Customer Preferences toward Frequency Program Rewards , 2002 .

[35]  Rajesh V. Manchanda,et al.  The Nature of Self-Reported Guilt in Consumption Contexts , 2003 .

[36]  Jean Tirole,et al.  Willpower and Personal Rules , 2002, Journal of Political Economy.

[37]  G. Loewenstein,et al.  Preferences for sequences of outcomes. , 1993 .

[38]  Ravi Dhar,et al.  Goal Fulfillment and Goal Targets in Sequential Choice , 2005 .

[39]  Ravi Dhar,et al.  Licensing Effect in Consumer Choice , 2006 .

[40]  Ran Kivetz,et al.  Determinants of justification and self-control. , 2006, Journal of experimental psychology. General.