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The Blissful Ignorance Effect: Pre- versus Post-action Effects on Outcome Expectancies Arising from Precise and Vague Information

Author

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  • Himanshu Mishra
  • Baba Shiv
  • Dhananjay Nayakankuppam

Abstract

This article examines the effects on outcome expectancies of precise versus vague information across two contexts: prior to an action taken by the consumer (pre-action) and after the action is taken (post-action). Across three experiments, we show that with vague information individuals are more optimistic of outcomes post-action compared to pre-action; this difference is attenuated with precise information. We term this inconsistency the blissful ignorance effect and show that it arises due to the interplay of two goals in decision making, the goal to arrive at a desired conclusion (directional goal) and the goal to be accurate (accuracy goal) about one's outcome expectancies. (c) 2008 by JOURNAL OF CONSUMER RESEARCH, Inc..

Suggested Citation

  • Himanshu Mishra & Baba Shiv & Dhananjay Nayakankuppam, 2008. "The Blissful Ignorance Effect: Pre- versus Post-action Effects on Outcome Expectancies Arising from Precise and Vague Information," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 35(4), pages 573-585, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:jconrs:v:35:y:2008:i:4:p:573-585
    DOI: 10.1086/591104
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    Cited by:

    1. Cristina Longo & Avi Shankar & Peter Nuttall, 2019. "“It’s Not Easy Living a Sustainable Lifestyle”: How Greater Knowledge Leads to Dilemmas, Tensions and Paralysis," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 154(3), pages 759-779, February.
    2. Ranjita Singh & Philip Walsh & Christina Mazza, 2019. "Sustainable Housing: Understanding the Barriers to Adopting Net Zero Energy Homes in Ontario, Canada," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(22), pages 1-21, November.
    3. Mishra, Himanshu & Mishra, Arul & Rixom, Jessica & Chatterjee, Promothesh, 2013. "Influence of motivated reasoning on saving and spending decisions," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 121(1), pages 13-23.
    4. Ashley A. Austin & Jacqueline S. Hammersley & Michael A. Ricci, 2020. "Improving Auditors' Consideration of Evidence Contradicting Management's Estimate Assumptions†," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 37(2), pages 696-716, June.
    5. Yoon Ju Kang & M. David Piercey & Andrew Trotman, 2020. "Does an Audit Judgment Rule Increase or Decrease Auditors' Use of Innovative Audit Procedures?," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 37(1), pages 297-321, March.
    6. Hultman, Magnus & Iveson, Abbie & Oghazi, Pejvak, 2021. "The Information Paradox in Internationalization: Can ignorance ever be bliss? Evidence from emerging market SME managers," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 268-277.
    7. Shichang Liang & Min Zhang & Yuxuan Chu & Lingling He, 2022. "Should “Green” Be Precise? The Effect of Information Presentation on Purchasing Intention of Green Products," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(16), pages 1-16, August.

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