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Area of Science:

  • Cognitive psychology
  • Developmental psychology
  • Neuroscience

Background:

  • Cognitive dissonance theory explains how individuals alter attitudes to align with choices.
  • Previous research primarily focused on adults, leaving the developmental origins of choice-induced preference unknown.
  • Understanding when preference formation begins is crucial for developmental theories.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the developmental emergence of choice-induced preference in preverbal infants.
  • To determine if infants exhibit preference changes similar to adults after making choices.
  • To ascertain if these changes are genuine preference shifts or due to other factors like novelty seeking.

Main Methods:

  • A free-choice paradigm was employed across seven experiments.
  • 189 preverbal infants participated in the study.
  • Infants' choices between equally attractive options were analyzed for preference shifts.

Main Results:

  • Infants demonstrated choice-induced preference changes comparable to adult patterns.
  • Infants showed a reduced preference for the unchosen option.
  • Results indicated genuine preference change, not novelty seeking or pre-existing biases.

Conclusions:

  • Choice significantly shapes preferences from a very early age.
  • The capacity for choice-induced preference change does not require extensive decision-making experience.
  • This phenomenon emerges even without a well-developed self-concept in preverbal infants.