Save the best for last II: Whether one saves the best for last depends on outcome category

Abstract

Usually, people prefer immediate over delayed outcomes. As such, when arranging outcomes, 1 could assume a person would prefer to start with the best outcome and end with the worst outcome. Nevertheless, people typically exhibit negative time preference (i.e., they prefer an improving series of outcomes) when the choice involves a sequence of outcomes. The generality of this finding was assessed across types of stimuli and populations. In Study 1, we examined the correspondence between college students’ preference for the order in which they experienced sequences of categorically different outcomes when those were hypothetical versus real. There was very strong correspondence in the ranks assigned to the hypothetical and real outcomes, but more variability in the sequences generated. In Study 2, we aimed to determine preschoolers’ preference for sequences. With academic items, two of the four participants chose to save the best for last. With leisure items, none of the participants saved the best for last. Preschoolers generally interspersed more- and less-preferred activities.