Ranking: Is it really sequential choice?

Preferences generated by rank order tasks are typically assumed to be equal to those generated by choice tasks. This exploratory study reports the findings of an empirical investigation of this assumption. The results indicate that ranking and choice tasks result in differences in resulting preferences. In addition, two manipulations, requiring a justification and altering the information format, were investigated to determine their impact on resulting preferences. Requiring a justification of resulting preferences had a differential impact on ranking and choice tasks.