Can chocolate cure blindness? Investigating the effect of preference strength and incentives on the incidence of Choice Blindness

Choice Blindness occurs when individuals fail to notice a mismatch between their stated preference and the outcome of their choice. While it is prevalent in areas of considerable economic importance, such as consumer choice for non-durables, pension decisions, and risk preferences, little is known about the underlying cause of this apparent cognitive blind spot. We examine whether the CB effect is robust when the stimuli is a product for which participants display a strong overall preference, specifically children's preference for chocolate. First, we demonstrate that Choice Blindness for female faces is a general cognitive blind spot that is robust for a large sample of children aged 8–12. Second, we show that when the stimuli are chocolates, there is a substantial reduction in the incidence of Choice Blindness; only 10–20% of participants failed to notice the choice manipulation. Subjects who reported a greater affinity for chocolate were more likely to detect mismatches. However, we found that the strength of the relative preference ordering within the set of chocolates did not affect the incidence of Choice Blindness. Moreover, incentive compatibility did not increase detection rates; participants were just as likely to notice a mismatch regardless of whether or they actually received the chocolate they chose. We propose that this phenomenon can be viewed as an error resulting from the early stages preference development.