Title |
First Is Best
|
---|---|
Published in |
PLOS ONE, June 2012
|
DOI | 10.1371/journal.pone.0035088 |
Pubmed ID | |
Authors |
Dana R. Carney, Mahzarin R. Banaji |
Abstract |
We experience the world serially rather than simultaneously. A century of research on human and nonhuman animals has suggested that the first experience in a series of two or more is cognitively privileged. We report three experiments designed to test the effect of first position on implicit preference and choice using targets that range from individual humans and social groups to consumer goods. Experiment 1 demonstrated an implicit preference to buy goods from the first salesperson encountered and to join teams encountered first, even when the difference in encounter is mere seconds. In Experiment 2 the first of two consumer items presented in quick succession was more likely to be chosen. In Experiment 3 an alternative hypothesis that first position merely accentuates the valence of options was ruled out by demonstrating that first position enhances preference for the first even when it is evaluatively negative in meaning (a criminal). Together, these experiments demonstrate a "first is best" effect and we offer possible interpretations based on evolutionary mechanisms of this "bound" on rational behavior and suggest that automaticity of judgment may be a helpful principle in clarifying previous inconsistencies in the empirical record on the effects of order on preference and choice. |
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United Kingdom | 2 | 5% |
Japan | 2 | 5% |
Germany | 1 | 2% |
France | 1 | 2% |
Brazil | 1 | 2% |
Thailand | 1 | 2% |
Singapore | 1 | 2% |
Other | 3 | 7% |
Unknown | 20 | 48% |
Demographic breakdown
Type | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Members of the public | 39 | 93% |
Scientists | 2 | 5% |
Practitioners (doctors, other healthcare professionals) | 1 | 2% |
Mendeley readers
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Spain | 2 | 2% |
Italy | 2 | 2% |
United States | 2 | 2% |
Canada | 2 | 2% |
Chile | 1 | <1% |
Switzerland | 1 | <1% |
Germany | 1 | <1% |
United Kingdom | 1 | <1% |
Luxembourg | 1 | <1% |
Other | 0 | 0% |
Unknown | 119 | 90% |
Demographic breakdown
Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Researcher | 23 | 17% |
Student > Bachelor | 22 | 17% |
Student > Ph. D. Student | 20 | 15% |
Student > Master | 16 | 12% |
Professor > Associate Professor | 11 | 8% |
Other | 27 | 20% |
Unknown | 13 | 10% |
Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Psychology | 48 | 36% |
Business, Management and Accounting | 15 | 11% |
Agricultural and Biological Sciences | 10 | 8% |
Economics, Econometrics and Finance | 10 | 8% |
Social Sciences | 7 | 5% |
Other | 27 | 20% |
Unknown | 15 | 11% |