Single-process versus multiple-strategy models of decision making: evidence from an information intrusion paradigm.
When decision makers are confronted with different problems and situations, do they use a uniform mechanism as assumed by single-process models (SPMs) or do they choose adaptively from a set of available decision strategies as multiple-strategy models (MSMs) imply? Both frameworks of decision making have gathered a lot of support, but only rarely have they been contrasted with each other. Employing an information intrusion paradigm for multi-attribute decisions from givens, SPM and MSM predictions on information search, decision outcomes, attention, and confidence judgments were derived and tested against each other in two experiments. The results consistently support the SPM view: Participants seemingly using a "take-the-best" (TTB) strategy do not ignore TTB-irrelevant information as MSMs would predict, but adapt the amount of information searched, choose alternative choice options, and show varying confidence judgments contingent on the quality of the "irrelevant" information. The uniformity of these findings underlines the adequacy of the novel information intrusion paradigm and comprehensively promotes the notion of a uniform decision making mechanism as assumed by single-process models.
University of Mannheim, School of Social Sciences, Schloss, Ehrenhof Ost, D-68131 Mannheim, Germany. Electronic address: anke.soellner@uni-mannheim.de.
Anke
A
Söllner
University of Mannheim, School of Social Sciences, Schloss, Ehrenhof Ost, D-68131 Mannheim, Germany. Electronic address: broeder@uni-mannheim.de.
Arndt
A
Bröder
University of Göttingen, Institute of Psychology, Gosslerstrasse 14, D-37073 Göttingen, Germany; Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods, Kurt-Schumacher-Str. 10, D-53113 Bonn, Germany. Electronic address: andreas.gloeckner@psych.uni-goettingen.de.
Andreas
A
Glöckner
University of Erfurt, Department of Psychology, Nordhauserstrasse 63, D-99089 Erfurt, Germany. Electronic address: tilmann.betsch@uni-erfurt.de.
Tilmann
T
Betsch
D000328:Adult; D003657:Decision Making / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007600:Judgment / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D008960:Models, Psychological; D055815:Young Adult
2340; Decision making; Decision strategy; Evidence accumulation; Information board; Multiple-strategy models; Single-process models