Transfer of value from fit

People experience regulatory fit when they pursue a goal in a manner that sustains their regulatory orientation (E. T. Higgins, 2000). Five studies tested whether the value experienced from regulatory fit can transfer to a subsequent evaluation of an object. In Studies 1 and 2, participants gave the same coffee mug a higher price if they had chosen it with a strategy that fit their orientation (eager strategy/promotion; vigilant strategy/prevention) than a strategy that did not fit. Studies 3–5 investigated possible mechanisms underlying this effect. Value transfer was independent of positive mood, perceived effectiveness (instrumentality), and perceived efficiency (ease), and occurred for an object that was independent of the fit process itself. The findings supported a value confusion account of transfer. There is no more important variable in motivation and decision making than value. In thinking about value, no concept has been more central than the hedonic principle. People approach pleasure and avoid pain. This hedonic principle underlies a wide variety of motivation and decision-making models, including animal learning models (e.g., Mowrer, 1960; Thorndike, 1935), personality models (e.g., Atkinson, 1964), social psychological models (e.g.