When products compete for consumers attention: How selective attention affects preferences

A basic idea in vision research is that selective attention determines not only which information is processed, but also how stimuli are evaluated and choices are made. In line with this reasoning, researchers provided initial evidence for effects of selective attention on product choice. However, little is known about the processes that underlie these effects. Hence, we examined several possible mechanisms that are discussed to explain effects of selective attention on product preferences. In three eye tracking experiments, we found that allocating attention to products while neglecting others led to an increase in preferences compared to just looking at products. We showed that this effect could not be explained by learning motor responses that are unrelated to preferences, and we also observed the effect of selective attention on preferences when we controlled for the time participants' gaze actually dwelled on the products.