Re: Does a person's preconceived ideas of what is best influence his/her choice

The answer to your question is a resounding yes.  People make decisions 
all the time based on preconceived ideas.  This is the basis for almost 
all advertising.  Let’s take potato chips as an example.  Advertisers will 
make commercials showing young, energetic, healthy people eating their 
chips while dancing and singing in the streets.  They hope that when the 
buyer goes to the supermarket they will identify that particular brand of 
potato chip with the preconceived idea of fun, and therefore buy that 
brand of potato chip.
   However, the notion that preconceived ideas influence the choices we 
make don’t end at advertisements.  Almost any decision that a person makes 
in influenced by preconceived ideas.  This is because when we make a 
decision, we must have some basis to choose one thing over another.  
Sometimes our choice is based on past experience, but often it is based on 
more subtle things.  Let’s say that you have to choose between three 
different brands of potato chips that you have never tried before.  You 
might choose a particular brand because you like the way it is packaged.  
In this case, you have an unconscious preconceived idea that prettier 
packaging means better tasting chips.
   The notion that preconceived ideas have an influence in our decisions 
is a major problem that scientists have to deal with every day.  
Scientists are supposed to be objective when they perform experiments.  
That is they are supposed to record only what they truly observe.  
However, if a scientist has a preconceived idea of what the outcome of an 
experiment may be, he/she may unconsciously alter the experiment or 
observations to fit the preconceived idea.  This is why many experiments 
are conducted in what is known as a ‘blinded’ fashion.  An scientist sets 
up an experiment but the results of the experiment are observed and 
recorded by another individual who does not know what the experiment is 
about.  In this case the blinded observer cannot be influenced by 
preconceived ideas.