Changing “Fate” Through Choices

When do consumers prefer consistency and when will they be more open to change and novel choice options? A large literature has investigated how aspects of the choice context and time horizon can affect openness to change and different options. We propose a novel additional influence, determined by the self-relevance of the choice and how people anticipate future outcomes. People try to understand what leads to future outcomes, to form anticipations, and to change the future outcomes for the better if possible. In a world of pure certainty, the mechanism behind a causal process is known, and consistency is guaranteed so that predictions can be made based on the causal mechanism and past experiences. In a realistic world full of uncertainty, however, predictions are much harder to make. First, the causal mechanism is more complex - a single outcome is determined by a multitude of various factors, some of which may even work in opposition. Second, even if a major causal mechanism is identified, past experiences are not specifically instrumental, since consistency between the past and future is indefinite.