Munz, Kurt P.and Vicki G. Morwitz (2018), "Spreading of Alternatives Without a Perception of Choice," Paper presented at the Society for Judgment and Decision Making Annual Conference Conference New Orleans, LA.
Choosing an option leads to more favorable attitudes toward that option compared to before choice. Three studies demonstrate that
this “post choice spreading of alternatives” may not require choice at all. Spreading depends on accepting an outcome, rather than on
the behavior of choosing or self-perception of having chosen. People normally accept the outcomes of their own choices, but they can
also accept outcomes they did not have personal agency to choose or the freedom to reject. Higher outcome acceptance predicts
greater post-outcome attitude change.