CHOICES FROM IDENTICAL OPTIONS

Many of the decisions that people must make involve selections from arrays of identical options. The six studies presented explored people's preferences in two contexts: choosing one item from vows of identical items and choosing a route from a series of identical routes. The first three studies examined preferences for items in particular positions. Whether people were choosing a product from a grocery shelf, deciding which bathroom stall to use, or marking a box on a questionnaire, they avoided the ends and tended to make their selection from the middle. For example, when there were four rows of a product in the supermarket, only 29% of the purchases were from the first and last rows, and 71% were from the middle two. The last three studies examined whether a similar preference exists in picking a route when all of the available routes are the same length and require the same number of turns. In solving mazes, planning routes on maps, and walking around campus, people showed the pattern opposite to that found for choosing items in rows: They avoided the middle routes and tended to take either the first or the last one. Overall, the last available route was the favorite. The notion that these behaviors may minimize mental effort is explored.