Freedom of choice and perceived control: An investigation of the relationship between preference for choosing and customer satisfaction

This dissertation investigates the relationship between having control and the level of satisfaction experienced as a result of this control. Control is manipulated by either allowing participants to freely choose an alternative from a choice set or assigning them the same alternative from the same set.; The first chapter tests the hypothesis that the effect of personal choosing on outcome satisfaction depends on the valence of the choice set. Findings from three studies show that, although people always prefer to choose personally, free choosers are more satisfied than imposed choosers when selecting from attractive alternatives, but less satisfied when selecting from unattractive alternatives. Subsequent analyses reveal that these differences in outcome satisfaction are caused by free choosers' higher elaboration on the pros and cons of the choice options as compared to imposed chooser.; The second chapter proposes an additional psychological mechanism underlying differences in outcome satisfaction and hypothesizes that free choosers' magnified affective response to the choice outcome is caused by their greater sense of responsibility for that outcome. Three studies show that when free choosers feel more responsible they are more satisfied with a pleasant outcome, but less satisfied with an unpleasant outcome, than imposed choosers. In contrast, when free choosers feel less responsible for the decision outcome, there is no significant difference between free and imposed choosers' satisfaction for both pleasant and unpleasant choices. By separately manipulating freedom of choice and outcome satisfaction, this second chapter of the thesis shows that choice has an effect on satisfaction only as long as it is associated with the idea of control. If the sense of control is removed from the act of choosing, there is no effect of choice on satisfaction.; The present research has potentially interesting implications for marketing practitioners, who in many instances incur the higher costs of shifting control to consumers under the assumption that consumers achieve greater satisfaction when in control of their consumption experiences. This dissertation suggests that when consumers are confronted with unpleasant or high-uncertainty choice outcomes, the investments of providing customers with an increased level of control may not be profitable.