Which statement best describes the effect of personality traits of successful people on customers?

• A. They encourage taking more risks
• B. They can make them choose goal completions over risk avoidance
• C. They have no effect
• D. They reduce the quality of decision-making

Answer: (B)

Successful people often display traits like confidence, perseverance, and clarity in pursuing outcomes. When customers observe these traits, they’re encouraged to focus on achieving a goal rather than merely avoiding risk. The behavior signals that moving toward a meaningful result is valued and feasible, so customers are more likely to commit to actions that advance toward that goal, even if some risk is involved. This goal-oriented framing helps explain why choosing goal completion over simple risk avoidance is the best description of the influence. It isn’t that there’s no effect or that decision quality is inherently worse; rather, the influential traits steer decisions toward pursuing outcomes, with risk framed as a step on the path to success.