Rejections Are Stickier Than Choices

Consumers frequently make the same decision repeatedly, by either choosing the products they like more or rejecting the products they like less. Holding everything else constant, does the mere act of choosing versus rejecting influence the extent to which consumers seek variety? Eight studies (N = 2,814) identify a robust effect: Consumers tend to seek less variety across repeated decisions if they make each decision by rejecting than if they make each decision by choosing. This effect occurs because an initial rejection (vs. choice) reduces the liking of the unselected option(s) and thus widens the liking gap between the selected and unselected options. An increased liking gap, in turn, decreases the consumer's likelihood of selecting a previously unselected option(s) in subsequent decisions. The findings also show that the enlarged liking gap is driven by increased negative inferences about the unselected option(s). Theoretically, this research extends the literatures on variety seeking and choosing versus rejecting. Practically, it offers implications for consumer welfare: The rejection task can improve (worsen) the decision quality in situations in which consumers typically seek too much (too little) variety.