title: Inertia and Decision Making.
abstract: Decision inertia is the tendency to repeat previous choices independently of the outcome, which can give rise to perseveration in suboptimal choices. We investigate this tendency in probability-updating tasks. Study 1 shows that, whenever decision inertia conflicts with normatively optimal behavior (Bayesian updating), error rates are larger and decisions are slower. This is consistent with a dual-process view of decision inertia as an automatic process conflicting with a more rational, controlled one. We find evidence of decision inertia in both required and autonomous decisions, but the effect of inertia is more clear in the latter. Study 2 considers more complex decision situations where further conflict arises due to reinforcement processes. We find the same effects of decision inertia when reinforcement is aligned with Bayesian updating, but if the two latter processes conflict, the effects are limited to autonomous choices. Additionally, both studies show that the tendency to rely on decision inertia is positively associated with preference for consistency.
authors.affiliation: Department of Economics, University of Cologne Cologne, Germany.
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Alós-Ferrer
authors.affiliation: Department of Economics, University of Cologne Cologne, Germany.
authors.forename: Sabine
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hügelschäfer
authors.affiliation: Department of Economics, University of Cologne Cologne, Germany.
authors.forename: Jiahui
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
keywords: Bayesian updating; decision making; inertia; multiple processes; perseveration; preference for consistency