Decision-Making and Interruptions: An Abstract

Abstract

We are interrupted constantly in everyday life. These interruptions are usually considered a nuisance. For example, being interrupted during work normally lowers performance (Katidioti et al. 2016). But when it comes to decision-making, interruptions sometimes have counter-intuitive effects. After an interruption, for example, consumers may make better decisions (Dijksterhuis 2004). While previous research on interruptions focuses on alternative selection, this paper looks at downstream variables and examines the effect of interruptions on consumers’ subjective perceptions. When making a purchase decision, in reality, there is often no right or wrong. Especially when it comes to complex decisions like buying a car or choosing a holiday, consumers are usually confronted with many alternatives and various characteristics. The quality of such decisions cannot be judged from a normative perspective. Consequently, we test whether unconscious thinking can increase the quality of a decision from a subjective point of view. Accordingly, we investigate whether an interruption in the decision-making process can increase decision satisfaction and also affect more behavioral outcomes like willingness to pay for the chosen alternative and purchase intention for an add-on that is related to the product.