Prior studies have observed that, in separate evaluation, the attractiveness of playing a simple gamble (7/36 to win $9; otherwise win nothing) is greatly enhanced by introducing a small loss (7/36 win $9; otherwise lose 5¢). The present studies tested and confirmed an explanation of this finding based on the concept of evaluability and the affect heuristic. Evaluators of the no-loss gamble lack a precise for how good $9 is, hence give it little weight in their judgment. The unattractive probability (7/36) determines the response. In the second gamble, comparison with the small loss makes $9 come alive with feeling and become weighted in the judgment, increasing attractiveness of the gamble. These results demonstrate the importance of contextual factors in determining affect and preference for simple risktaking opportunities. They show that the meaning, utility, and weighting of even a very familiar monetary outcome such as $9 is not fixed, but depends greatly on these contextual factors
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