Choosing the More Effortful Option for Illusionary Self-Control

Consumers must often choose between giving into temptation and the pursuit of a higher-order, long-range goal (Hoch and Loewenstein 1991; Metcalfe and Mischel 1999). These dilemmas are especially common in the domain of eating behavior, where people must often decide whether to indulge their craving for delicious but fattening food (e.g., chocolate cake and ice cream) or to choose an alternative (e.g., fruit salad) that is consistent with their goal of staying healthy. However, people often encounter situations in which only unhealthy options are available. For example, a dinner guest might feel obligated to choose between two luscious desserts that the host has spent considerable effort in preparing; a tourist may patronize a local “greasy spoon” restaurant that does not offer healthy alternatives; and one might contemplate two flavors of popcorn to eat at a movie concession stand. Most research on the resolution of conflicts between immediate gratification and long-term goal attainment (Hoch and Loewenstein 1991; Loewenstein 1996; Metcalfe and Mischel 1999) has focused on the first type of choice situation described above. That is, individuals are confronted with a choice between a hedonically appealing but unhealthy option and a healthy but relatively less unappealing one. In these conditions, they typically choose the first option (Hoch and Loewenstein 1991). If the desirability of good health is called to their attention, however, they may choose the healthy option (Ferguson and Bargh 2004; Shah and Kruglanski 2003). Or, they might choose one option of each type thereby striking a balance between their desires to attain the two goals in question (Dhar and Simonson 1999).