Skip to main content
alt

Please enter a keyword and click the arrow to search the site

Or explore one of the areas below

Tragic choices: Autonomy and emotional responses to medical decisions

Journal

Journal of Consumer Research

Subject

Marketing

Publishing details

Journal of Consumer Research 2009 Vol 36:3 p 337-352

Authors / Editors

Botti S;Orfali K;Iyengar S S

Biographies

Simona Botti

Publication Year

2009

Abstract

We investigate how making highly consequential, highly undesirable decisions affects emotions and preference for autonomy. We examine individuals facing real or hypothetical decisions to discontinue their infants' life support who either choose personally or have physicians choose for them. Findings from a multidisciplinary approach consisting of a qualitative analysis of in-depth interviews and three laboratory studies reveal that perceived personal causality for making tragic decisions generates more negative feelings than having the same choices externally made. Tragic decisions also undermine coping abilities, weakening the desire for autonomy. Consequently, participants disliked making decisions but also resented relinquishing their option to choose.

Keywords

Affect/emotions/mood; Choice (brand or product level); Judgement and decision making; Public policy issues; Depth/long interviews; Ethnography; Experimental design and analysis (ANOVA); Grounded theory

Available on ECCH

No


Select up to 4 programmes to compare

Select one more to compare
×
subscribe_image_desktop 5949B9BFE33243D782D1C7A17E3345D0

Sign up to receive our latest news and business thinking direct to your inbox

×

Sign up to receive our latest course information and business thinking

Leave your details above if you would like to receive emails containing the latest thought leadership, invitations to events and news about courses that could enhance your career. If you would prefer not to receive our emails, you can still access the case study by clicking the button below. You can opt-out of receiving our emails at any time by visiting: https://london.edu/my-profile-preferences or by unsubscribing through the link provided in our emails. View our Privacy Policy for more information on your rights.