Choice blindness is a part of a cognitive phenomenon known as theintrospection illusion.
And you may even defend a choice just because you think it’s the one you made.
The study involved having participants look at images of two different female faces for between two to five seconds.
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The participants then rated which face they found the most attractive.
Surprisingly, only 13% of the participants noticed the switch.
Further research demonstrated how these effects could influence other types of choices.
In other cases, people ended up tasting the exact same jam twice.
Yet when asked, people would then explain how the two tastes were different.
In a 2013 study by Hall and colleagues, researchers investigated how choice blindness might influence political attitudes.
Participants were then asked to justify their responses on the altered issues.
These results suggest that our politicalattitudes may be more open to changethan we may realize.
What Causes Choice Blindness?
How do the experts define choice blindness?
So why do so many people fail to notice these switches?
Are we lessaware of our preferencesthan we think we are?
Interest in the choice at hand is one factor that might play a role.
Real-World Implications
Choice blindness can have important ramifications in the real world.
The ability to recognize faces plays a major role in our everyday lives.
While this kind of mistake may not always be significant, there are times when it can be life-changing.
You may be less susceptible to mistaking that choice for something else in the future.
2011;27(2):183-203. doi:10.1177/1043986211405886
