Choosing versus Rejecting: The Impact of Goal-Task Compatibility on Decision Confidence

This research posits that goal orientation influences the impact of the type of decision task (selection vs. rejection) on decision confidence. The data reported in a series of three experiments show that promotion-focused individuals tend to be more confident in their decisions in the context of a selection rather than a rejection task, whereas for prevention-focused individuals this effect is reversed. This research suggests that goal-task compatibility underlies the observed effects and shows that the impact of goal orientation can transfer the value of the process onto the judgment of the outcomes, as suggested by prior research, and have a significant impact on individuals' decision confidence. The empirical data support these propositions across different decision contexts, offering new insights into the role of goal-task compatibility in individual decision processes.