Save the best for last II: Whether one saves the best for last depends on outcome category.

Abstract

Usually, people prefer immediate over delayed outcomes. As such, when arranging outcomes, 1 could assume a person would prefer to start with the best outcome and end with the worst outcome. Nevertheless, people typically exhibit negative time preference (i.e., they prefer an improving series of outcomes) when the choice involves a sequence of outcomes. The generality of this finding was assessed across types of stimuli and populations. In Study 1, we examined the correspondence between college students' preference for the order in which they experienced sequences of categorically different outcomes when those were hypothetical versus real. There was very strong correspondence in the ranks assigned to the hypothetical and real outcomes, but more variability in the sequences generated. In Study 2, we aimed to determine preschoolers' preference for sequences. With academic items, two of the four participants chose to save the best for last. With leisure items, none of the participants saved the best for last. Preschoolers generally interspersed more-and less-preferred activities.

Pleasure before business: emotions and age effects on daily activity scheduling

“…Furthermore, the preference for improving sequences has been found when the number of outcomes was limited in size, potentially requesting less effort to select the sequence. Studies requesting to order a greater number of stimuli/outcomes showed a less consistent pattern of results 28 , 29 .…”

“…This affective connotation could influence the assignment of priorities during the scheduling process. Research indicated that younger adults often choose negative stimuli as the first and keep positive stimuli at the end of a sequence, showing a sort of “save the best for the last” tendency 28 , 29 . Regarding older adults, evidence is sparse and far from conclusive 30 .…”

Do persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities prefer to save the best for last in an MSWO? A preliminary investigation

“…(2020), it is possible that self‐generated rules or self‐control responses may account for these response patterns. For example, in another study (Castillo, Sun, Frank‐Crawford, Rooker, et al., in press), a preschooler chose the preferred item following the delay in the delay sensitivity assessment, while clarifying “because my mommy said I have to wait.”…”