Rapid Decisions – First Choice is Assumed Best
Tuesday, July 10th, 2012
When selecting among alternatives, the order in which the choices are presented and the speed at which the decision is made, strongly shape the outcome.
While this is likely old news to readers of the Cognitive Design Blog, researchers at the Haas School of Business sum it up nicely:
“The study found that especially in circumstances under which decisions must be made quickly or without much deliberation, preferences are unconsciously and immediately guided to those options presented first”
This primacy effect may be rooted in evolution and it has implications for cognitive designers. In a fast-decision environment you can change the order of choices to nudge decision-makers in a specific direction. On the other hand, if a specific choice is not preferred, i.e. making a choice among the alternatives needs to be considered, you need to add safeguards to the process to mitigate the primacy bias.
