The innovation bias: Implicit preferences for innovative and historical solutions over contemporary ones
Summary: Innovative products and services promise to improve our lives in many ways. Novel, unfamiliar approaches, however, also come with increased uncertainty regarding their feasibility and quality. In four preregistered experiments, we investigated implicit biases toward such innovative approach...
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| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2025-05-01
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| Series: | iScience |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589004225007515 |
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| author | Moritz Reis Yeun Joon Kim Roland Pfister Wilfried Kunde |
| author_facet | Moritz Reis Yeun Joon Kim Roland Pfister Wilfried Kunde |
| author_sort | Moritz Reis |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Summary: Innovative products and services promise to improve our lives in many ways. Novel, unfamiliar approaches, however, also come with increased uncertainty regarding their feasibility and quality. In four preregistered experiments, we investigated implicit biases toward such innovative approaches. We tracked hand movements while participants chose between options of different levels of innovativeness. Choices either compared historic versus contemporary options (past comparison; e.g., carriage vs. car) or they compared contemporary versus innovative options (future comparison; e.g., car vs. self-driving car). While for past comparisons, movement trajectories were systematically torn toward the more historic option, the opposite effect was observed for future comparisons. This pattern of results replicated across all four studies. People, thus, seem to implicitly favor innovative and historic approaches over established ones. We conclude that moderate incongruity from an established approach, either through innovation or through a return to the past, evokes particular interest and attraction toward non-standard alternatives. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-2eef9bd5a5414a0aab3bbb3cc741466a |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2589-0042 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | iScience |
| spelling | doaj-art-2eef9bd5a5414a0aab3bbb3cc741466a2025-08-20T02:13:40ZengElsevieriScience2589-00422025-05-0128511249010.1016/j.isci.2025.112490The innovation bias: Implicit preferences for innovative and historical solutions over contemporary onesMoritz Reis0Yeun Joon Kim1Roland Pfister2Wilfried Kunde3Institute of Psychology, University of Wuerzburg, Roentgenring 11, 97070 Wuerzburg, Germany; Cambridge Judge Business School, University of Cambridge, Trumpington Street, Cambridge CB2 1 AG, UK; Corresponding authorCambridge Judge Business School, University of Cambridge, Trumpington Street, Cambridge CB2 1 AG, UKGeneral Psychology, Trier University, Johanniterufer 15, 54290 Trier, Germany; Institute for Cognitive & Affective Neuroscience (ICAN), Trier University, Universitätsring 15, 54296 Trier, GermanyInstitute of Psychology, University of Wuerzburg, Roentgenring 11, 97070 Wuerzburg, GermanySummary: Innovative products and services promise to improve our lives in many ways. Novel, unfamiliar approaches, however, also come with increased uncertainty regarding their feasibility and quality. In four preregistered experiments, we investigated implicit biases toward such innovative approaches. We tracked hand movements while participants chose between options of different levels of innovativeness. Choices either compared historic versus contemporary options (past comparison; e.g., carriage vs. car) or they compared contemporary versus innovative options (future comparison; e.g., car vs. self-driving car). While for past comparisons, movement trajectories were systematically torn toward the more historic option, the opposite effect was observed for future comparisons. This pattern of results replicated across all four studies. People, thus, seem to implicitly favor innovative and historic approaches over established ones. We conclude that moderate incongruity from an established approach, either through innovation or through a return to the past, evokes particular interest and attraction toward non-standard alternatives.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589004225007515Social sciences |
| spellingShingle | Moritz Reis Yeun Joon Kim Roland Pfister Wilfried Kunde The innovation bias: Implicit preferences for innovative and historical solutions over contemporary ones iScience Social sciences |
| title | The innovation bias: Implicit preferences for innovative and historical solutions over contemporary ones |
| title_full | The innovation bias: Implicit preferences for innovative and historical solutions over contemporary ones |
| title_fullStr | The innovation bias: Implicit preferences for innovative and historical solutions over contemporary ones |
| title_full_unstemmed | The innovation bias: Implicit preferences for innovative and historical solutions over contemporary ones |
| title_short | The innovation bias: Implicit preferences for innovative and historical solutions over contemporary ones |
| title_sort | innovation bias implicit preferences for innovative and historical solutions over contemporary ones |
| topic | Social sciences |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589004225007515 |
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