Simulation does not just inform choice, it changes choice.
Karalyn F EnzDiana I TamirPublished in: The Behavioral and brain sciences (2023)
Simulation - imagining future events - plays a role in decision-making. In Conviction Narrative Theory, people's emotional responses to their simulations inform their choices. Yet imagining one possible future also increases its plausibility and accessibility relative to other futures. We propose that the act of simulation, in addition to affective evaluation, drives people to choose in accordance with their simulations.