Robust consistency of choice switching in decisions from experience

Journal Title: Judgment and Decision Making - Year 2020, Vol 15, Issue 1

Abstract

Decision making is a multifaceted process but studies of individual differences in decision behavior typically use only the proportions of choices from different options as behavioral indices. I examine whether the probability of choice switching in decisions from experience, reflecting one’s exploration strategy, is consistent across sessions and tasks. In Study 1, I re-analyzed an experiment in which participants performed six decision tasks in two sessions that were 45 days apart. Choice switching rates were highly consistent across sessions and tasks, and their consistency exceeded that of rates of risky choices. In Study 2 I conducted a similar analysis for the Technion Prediction Tournament, and also found higher consistency across tasks in switching rates than in choice rates. Additionally, in both studies, there were moderate to high correlations between switching rates at the beginning and towards the end of the task. The results thus highlight an often overlooked but highly consistent and independent aspect of human behavior.

Authors and Affiliations

Eldad Yechiam

Keywords

Related Articles

Hedonic products for you, utilitarian products for me

Consumers make trade-offs when they choose between utilitarian and hedonic products. The former is practical, instrumental, and functional, whereas the latter is sensational and experiential. Prior research shows that pe...

Belief bias and representation in assessing the Bayesian rationality of others

People often assess the reasonableness of another person’s judgments. When doing so, the evaluator should set aside knowledge that would not have been available to the evaluatee to assess whether the evaluatee made a rea...

Changing her ways: The number of options and mate-standard strength impact mate choice strategy and satisfaction

Researchers know very little about how people choose mates. To remedy this, the present study examined the influence of number of potential mates and mate-standard strength on single women’s choice satisfaction and strat...

The boundary effect: Perceived post hoc accuracy of prediction intervals

Predictions of magnitudes (costs, durations, environmental events) are often given as uncertainty intervals (ranges). When are such forecasts judged to be correct? We report results of four experiments showing that forec...

Numeracy as a precursor to pro-social behavior: The impact of numeracy and presentation format on the cognitive mechanisms underlying donation decisions

Donation requests often convey numerical information about the people in need. In two studies we investigated the effects of numeracy and presentation format on the underlying affective and cognitive mechanisms of donati...

Download PDF file
  • EP ID EP678459
  • DOI -
  • Views 170
  • Downloads 0

How To Cite

Eldad Yechiam (2020). Robust consistency of choice switching in decisions from experience. Judgment and Decision Making, 15(1), -. https://europub.co.uk/articles/-A-678459