| Consumers can choose from a set by selecting the most liked option or rejecting disliked option(s). The present research finds that rejection can lead to greater satisfaction than selection. Two mediating processes are identified (proximal decision thoughts and distal counterfactual thoughts during consumption) and three moderators are investigated (valence of the consumption experience, and salience and certainty of the foregone alternatives). Specifically, a rejection- (versus selection-) based strategy increases thoughts about negative aspects of foregone options during decision-making. Such thoughts are more easily recruited by rejecters and used to mitigate dissatisfaction through the generation of downward counterfactuals (i.e., things could have been worse, at least I didn't choose the alternative)---when the consumption experience is negative and the foregone alternatives are salient and certain. Five studies, using actual and imagined consumption experience, provide support for the research propositions. |
