One writer has presented what he called "a simplistic view" of distinction bias: When asked if someone would like an apple, they may say "Yes".
The reason for this is that distinction bias causes individuals to "over-examine and over-value the differences between things as we scrutinize them.
When predictions or choices are made, explained Hsee and Zhang in their 2004 paper, people are often in the joint evaluation (JE) mode but when people experience an event, they are often in the single evaluation (SE) mode.
[3] One writer has discussed the distinction bias in connection with such matters as choosing a job or a house.
When making a choice between an interesting job that pays $60,000 a year and a boring job that pays $70,000 a year or a choice between two equally priced houses, one of them larger but farther from work, the average individual is likely to make false assumptions – for example, that $70,000 will make them feel exactly one-sixth better than $60,000, or that 4,000 square-foot house is one-third better than a 3,000 square-foot house.
The more sensible approach, the writer advises in accordance with the research of Hsee and Zhang, is to avoid comparing two jobs, or houses, directly.
[4] In 2009, Margaret E. Brooks, Ashley M. Guidroz, and Madhura Chakrabarti reported on two studies in which they had examined the reactions of job applicants to alternative approaches to diversity in employment decisions.