Choice versus valuation in spatial decisions: Framing, attention, and preference reversal

Spatial decisions often require trading off distance against monetary outcomes, yet the role of procedural framing in constructing such preferences remains underexplored. We investigated whether “choice” versus “valuation (bidding)” tasks elicit preference reversals and through which cognitive and attentional mechanisms. In a within-subject laboratory study ( N = 80), participants completed 50 spatial trade-offs under both tasks while eye movements were recorded at 1000 Hz. Results revealed a robust reversal: relative to choice, valuation markedly reduced selections of the nearer-but-smaller option. Valuation imposed greater cognitive demand, indexed by longer response times, larger pupil diameters, and longer fixations. Despite these shifts, outcome-directed gaze (outcome gaze proportion) was statistically stable across frames, consistent with perceptual salience anchoring in spatial attributes. At a finer grain, valuation decreased selection-bias toward the immediate alternative and redirected dimensional attention toward the monetary attribute. While the primary drivers of this reversal are contextual and attentional, the role of stable individual differences remains an open question for future research. Together, the findings support an integrative account in which procedural framing and attentional anchoring jointly construct spatial preferences and suggest leverage points for decision-aids in everyday mobility and consumer contexts.