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Simulation does not just inform choice, it changes choice

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 May 2023

Karalyn F. Enz Open the ORCID record for Karalyn F. Enz [Opens in a new window]  and
Diana I. Tamir Open the ORCID record for Diana I. Tamir [Opens in a new window]
Karalyn F. Enz
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08540, USA. kenz@princeton.edu dtamir@princeton.edu https://scholar.princeton.edu/kenz https://psnlab.princeton.edu/
Diana I. Tamir
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08540, USA. kenz@princeton.edu dtamir@princeton.edu https://scholar.princeton.edu/kenz https://psnlab.princeton.edu/
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Abstract

Simulation – imagining future events – plays a role in decision-making. In Conviction Narrative Theory, people's emotional responses to their simulations inform their choices. Yet imagining one possible future also increases its plausibility and accessibility relative to other futures. We propose that the act of simulation, in addition to affective evaluation, drives people to choose in accordance with their simulations.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 46 , 2023 , e91
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press

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