Having second thoughts: Consequences of decision reversibility

[摘要] Many of the decisions we make are irreversible. From everyday choices such as deciding whether or not to put sugar in our,coffee to more consequential dilemmas such as deciding whether or not to abort one's unborn child. Other decisions leave more,room for second-guessing our initial preferences. These reversible decisions provide us with the opportunity to change our,minds at a later point in time. People generally prefer reversible to irreversible decisions. We, for instance, tend to provide,temporary (rather than permanent) contracts to new employees, live together with our romantic partners for a while before,getting married, and buy products at full price that we can return to the store rather than products that are on sale but,cannot be returned.

[发布机构] University of Amterdam