How a maximizing orientation affects trade-offs between desirability and feasibility: The role of outcome- versus process-focused decision making

This research examines how maximizers make decisions when they must trade-off between desirability and feasibility attributes. Across four studies, we demonstrate that maximizers tend to prefer choices offering more desirability to those offering more feasibility and respond more favorably to a product's advertising when it highlights desirability more than feasibility attributes. Furthermore, we show that maximizers' focus on outcomes rather than processes drives their preference for desirability, such that changing from an outcome to a process focus can redirect their interest from desirability to feasibility. By contrast, satisficers do not prefer products higher in desirability to those higher in feasibility and are not more receptive to ads highlighting desirability attributes. Furthermore, because satisficers may focus on both the outcome and the process, priming either one is redundant and does not alter their preference for desirability or feasibility.     

Monocular-contingent and binocular-contingent aftereffects

Alternate monocular and binocular exposure to complementary stimulation can yield opposite but coexisting aftereffects that are contingent on whether the test display is viewed with one eye or two eyes. The motion aftereffect was studied by adapting each eye separately to a contracting spiral and both eyes together to an expanding spiral. The stationary test spiral subsequently appeared to be expanding when viewed monocularly, but to be contracting when it was seen with both eyes open. With respect to the McCollough effect, after monocular exposure to red-vertical and green-horizontal gratings and binocular exposure to red-horizontal and green-vertical gratings, the appearance of the color of the test gratings when viewed with one eye was different from that when viewed with both eyes. Opposite, coexisting aftereffects induced by complementary stimulation can be interpreted as evidence that there are unique binocular aspects to visual function.