Abstract

Choice-induced preference change (CIPC) is a widely known phenomenon in which preference changes after decision making (choosing/rejecting). Recently, one study reported that even perceptual judgments can change in accordance with one’s decision-making. This result raises the possibility that judgments in general, (not only those related to preference) can change after making a choice. Hence, the concept of CIPC may be conceived of as an instance of a more general phenomenon of choice-induced judgment change (CIJC). Given only one report of CIJC so far, the present study examined whether CIJC can be replicated using different methods, thereby testing the generalizability of CIJC. In the present study, participants first rated the degree to which the distribution of dots in an array were circular. Next, they were presented with a pair of dot arrays that had been rated similarly and were asked to choose the array with a more circular distribution of dots. Finally, participants once again rated the degree to which the distribution of dots in each array were circular. The results revealed that the ratings of chosen stimuli increased while those of rejected stimuli didn’t change, replicating the phenomenon of CIJC. Our findings support the idea that judgments in general, (not only preference-based, and even perceptual ones) change in accordance with one’s decision making.