Differences In Decision-making Styles Research Articles

A computational cognitive model of the Iowa Gambling Task for finely characterizing decision making in methamphetamine users

BackgroundConventional scores from the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) have been used to assess decision making in a variety of disorders, including substance use. This study extends that work by examining a novel computational cognitive model of the IGT that was hypothesized to capture fine-grained differences in decision-making styles in persons with recent methamphetamine use disorders. MethodsA total of 64 participants were evaluated in this study, which included individuals with lifetime methamphetamine dependence diagnoses, individuals with diagnoses of both methamphetamine and other substance dependence, and control participants with no histories of substance use disorders. Participants were individually modeled performing the IGT by adjusting the parameters of the computational model MAIDEN-IGT with an evolutionary strategy. ResultsThe resultant models explained more than 80% of the participants’ behavior. The common IGT net score alone was not able to detect any inter-group differences. However, the modeling process yielded differentiated inter-group patterns of behavior extracted from the computational models. Relative to control participants, methamphetamine users exhibited a lower estimation of the possible losses as well as the risk associated to the losses. In addition, multi-substance users showed a behavior pattern that affects the evaluation of losses and the risk associated with gains. ConclusionsMAIDEN-IGT computational models were more sensitive than traditional metrics to the risky decision making of persons with methamphetamine use disorders. These novel models raise plausible hypotheses about the nature of motivated behaviors in the context of substance use disorders.

Age differences in intuitive moral decision-making: Associations with inter-network neural connectivity.

Positions of power involving moral decision-making are often held by older adults (OAs). However, little is known about age differences in moral decision-making and the intrinsic organization of the aging brain. In this study, younger adults (YAs; n = 117, Mage = 22.11) and OAs (n = 82, Mage = 67.54) made decisions in hypothetical moral dilemmas and completed resting-state multi-echo functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scans. Relative to YAs, OAs were more likely to endorse deontological decisions (i.e., decisions based on adherence to a moral principle or duty), but only when the choice was immediately compelling or intuitive. By contrast, there was no difference between YAs and OAs in utilitarian decisions (i.e., decisions aimed at maximizing collective well-being) when the utilitarian choice was intuitive. Enhanced connections between the posterior medial core of the default network (pmDN) and the dorsal attention network, and overall reduced segregation of pmDN from the rest of the brain, were associated with this increased deontological-intuitive moral decision-making style in OAs. The present study contributes to our understanding of age differences in decision-making styles by taking into account the intuitiveness of the moral choice, and it offers further insights as to how age differences in intrinsic brain connectivity relate to these distinct moral decision-making styles in YAs and OAs. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Who reads customer reviews after product choice? Maximizing, satisficing, and postchoice information search

Not every consumer wants to read customer reviews after making a purchase. The present research examines whether consumers' individual differences in decision-making styles, namely maximizing and satisficing, can affect the extent to which consumers seek additional information such as customer reviews as well as the valence of such information after making a product choice. Findings from two studies show that maximizers exhibit a greater tendency to engage in postchoice information search than satisficers. Drawing upon the two-component model of maximization, the results also suggest that the maximization goal to choose the best is related to seeking additional information in favor of the initial choice (e.g., positive reviews) whereas the maximization strategy of alternative search is related to seeking further information both in favor of and against the initial choice (e.g., positive and negative reviews), which ultimately impacts consumers' choice satisfaction.

Gender-based differences in consumer decision-making styles: implications for marketers

Gender-based segmentation is frequently used by marketers to cater to different needs and preferences of men and women. However, the literature in consumer behaviour has not explored enough the role of gender in decision-making. Specifically, there are hardly any studies that investigate the decision-making styles of Indian male and female consumers. Based on gender and sociocultural theories, this study develops and tests hypotheses on gender-based differences in decision-making styles, including hedonism, novelty consciousness, price value consciousness and brand loyalty orientation. Analysis of data obtained from 355 male and 203 female students through self-administered questionnaire indicates that women score higher than men on hedonism, novelty orientation and price value consciousness. No significant difference was found on the dimension of brand loyalty. The study contributes to the consumer behaviour research by highlighting the differences in decision-making styles of Indian millennial men and women. The results can help marketers to employ gender-based segmentation and target more effectively. The study provides insights that firms can use in framing product, pricing and communication strategies catering to the requirements of a specific gender.

Gender Differences in Decision-making and Leadership: Evidence from Armenia

This paper summarizes the arguments and counterarguments within the scientific discussion on the issue of gender differences in decision-making and leadership positions. The main purpose of the research is to find out if there are gender differences in decision-making styles, career development, and leadership and reveal the main causes. A systematization of literary sources on the issue of gender differences in the decision-making process indicates that there are real differences: women are more sensitive, men are overconfident, men tend to be leaders more than women. Investigation of the topic proves that in leadership positions men are promoted more than women are, also there is a pay gap between genders. Analysis in the paper is carried out in the following logical sequence: the statistical data available has been analyzed, and then a survey is done, which reveals some issues of gender differences in leadership and decision-making in workplaces in Armenia. Based on the generalization of the results, the differences in decision-making are determined and the corresponding conclusions are drawn. Methodological tools of the research methods were analysis and synthesis of the available data, survey, and statistical methods: cross-tabulation with Pearson Chi-square testing, which proves that there are significant relationships between some factors. The paper presents the results of an empirical analysis, which shows that in Armenia women and men make decisions differently, women have fewer opportunities for career promotion. The survey reveals that women make decisions in groups, men – alone. The main characteristics of women during the decision-making process are: analytical thinking, consulting, honesty, and intuitive thinking. Also, the workers, lower and middle-level managers make decisions mainly in groups, high-level managers – alone. The survey also reveals the main reasons why men are appointed to leadership positions and the main stereotypes that hinder women’s career advancement. The results of the research can be useful for state bodies, labor markets, organizations, educational institutions, researchers, etc. Keywords: gender, inequality, decision-making, leadership, Chi-square testing, survey, gender differences.

Analysis of Gender Differences in Determining Online Purchase Decision-Making Style on Fashion Products in Padang City

Online shopping behavior refers to the process of purchasing products and services through the internet. Online Shopping is one of alternatives to purchase goods or services by men and women who are target market groups for marketers. Men and women tend to have different ways of thinking. The purpose of this study is to describe the differences between men and women, observed from their rationality in making decisions to purchase fashion products online. This study uses a decision-making style approach developed by Scott and Bruce (1995).
 In this study, the population is consumers living in the city of Padang who have purchased fashion products online at online shopping sites. There were 138 respondents who were sampled in this study.
 The sampling method uses accidental sampling. Data were analyzed using the Independent Sample T-test. This study found that there were differences in decision-making styles between men and women in purchasing fashion products online. In this case men are said to be more rational than women in making purchasing decisions online.
 
 Keywords: Online Shopping, Buyer Decision Making Style

The Effects of Parent Attachment and Parenting Styles on Decision-Making in College Students [Susquehanna University

College students face many decisions that can shape the course of their future lives. Individual differences in decision-making styles affect the quality of students’ choices. The impact of personality on decision-making is well researched; little research explores the impact of parent attachment and parenting styles. Attachment with parents provides a sense of basic security or insecurity; parenting style impacts the child’s sense of autonomy and confidence. We explored the effects of parent attachment, parenting styles, and two personality variables on decision-making in college students. We hypothesized that low levels of attachment anxiety and avoidance, and high levels of authoritative parenting, conscientiousness, and impulse control, would predict positive decision-making styles. Students (N = 80) at a small liberal arts university completed a survey that measured parent attachment (anxiety, avoidance; Fraley, et al. 2011), parenting styles (authoritative, authoritarian, permissive; Buri 1991), conscientiousness and impulse control (Goldberg, 1999), and decision-making (avoidant, dependent, intuitive, rational, spontaneous; Scott & Bruce, 1995). Preliminary analyses explored the impacts of age and gender. Primary analyses consisted of stepwise regressions on decision-making styles. Age had no effects; there were student and parent gender differences. As expected, conscientiousness and impulse control predicted more positive and less negative decision-making, avoidance toward the father less positive and more negative decision-making, avoidance toward the mother more negative decision-making, and authoritarian mothering more negative decision-making. Unexpectedly, authoritative mothering predicted less positive and more negative decision-making and authoritarian fathering more positive decision-making. Our results suggest that parent attachment and parenting styles do influence decision-making styles. Our regressions explained 23%-36% of the variance for four of the five decision-making styles. Limitations of our study included a small sample and limited personality variables. We believe the impact of parent attachment and parenting styles on decision-making warrants further exploration with a larger sample and widened range of variables.

Raters’ Decision Making Variations in Scoring Writing Samples

This study examined raters’ decision making variations in a writing assessment task focusing on individual differences in decision-making style (DMS). The participants’ of the study were six TEFL instructors. A rating scale obtained from Turner and Upshur, 2002 and a General Decision Making Style Inventory questionnaire, GDMSI, obtained from Scott and Bruce (1995) were administered to raters. The results showed the raters’ behaviors were not equally the same in the same rating situations. These discrepancies suggested individual socio-cognitive differences in accounting for some rater variability in scoring. In addition, characteristics of the texts (not just individual cognitive characteristics) favored certain decision-making behaviors. Accordingly, a re-visioning of the one-size-fits-all approach that is currently the norm in the training of raters for scoring writing assessments is needed. Further, a more individualized approach to rater training is needed. If the individual decision-making style to a great extent is dependent on basic cognitive abilities that are stable and not easily changed, then the decision support systems need to be flexible in order to match the needs of the individual decision makers.

Left or Right: Auditory Collision Warnings for Driving Assistance Systems

Assistance driving systems aim to facilitate human behavior and increase safety on the road. These systems comprise common systems such as forward collision warning systems, lane deviation warning systems, and even park assistance systems. Warning systems can communicate with the driver through various modalities, but auditory warnings have the advantage of not further tasking visual resources that are primarily used for driving. Auditory warnings can also be presented from a certain location within the cab environment to be used by the driver as a cue. Beattie, Baillie, Halvey, and McCall (2014) assessed presenting warnings in stereo configuration, coming from one source, and bilateral configuration, panned fully from left or right, and found that drivers felt more in control with lateral warnings than stereo warnings when the car was in self-driving mode. Straughn, Gray, and Tan (2009) examined laterally presented auditory warnings to signal potential collisions. They found that the ideal presentation of warnings in either the avoidance direction, in which the driver should direct the car to avoid a collision, or the collision direction, in which the potential collision is located, was dependent on time to collision. Wang, Proctor, and Pick (2003) applied the stimulus-response compatibility principle to auditory warning design by using a steering wheel in a non-driving scenario and found that a tone presented monaurally in the avoidance-direction led to the fastest steering response. However, the reverse finding occurred when similar experiments utilized a driving simulator in a driving scenario (Straughn et al., 2009; Wang, Pick, Proctor, & Ye, 2007). The present study further investigated how to design spatially presented auditory collision warnings to facilitate drivers’ response to potential collisions. Specifically, tones indicating a pedestrian walking across the road were presented either in the avoidance direction or in the collision direction. The experimental task consisted of monitoring the road for potential collisions and turning the wheel in the appropriate direction to respond. Additionally, time to collision was manipulated to investigate the impact of the timing of the warning and increasing time pressure on the steering response. Time to collision was manipulated by half second intervals from two to four seconds resulting in five different time-to-collision scenarios. Lastly, the effect of individual differences in decision-making styles were also considered by using two decision-making style questionnaires. Results from the experiment showed that the presentation of a collision warning in the collision direction led to faster responses when compared to the warning in the avoidance direction. This result may be due to the collision warning directing the attention of the participant to the location of the threat so that they can more quickly make a response decision. Further, the advantage of avoidance-direction warnings over collision-direction warnings was greater with greater time to collision. Results showed that participant responses to varying time to collision influenced their reaction time. The participants appeared to have not relied solely on the auditory tones, but rather they utilized the warning tones in conjunction with visual information in the environment. These results from this study have implications for improving collision avoidance systems: Presentation of a collision warning in the direction of the collision may be more intuitive to drivers, regardless of time to collision.

Decisions, decisions? The implications of gender differences in decision-making style and self-confidence

Decisions, decisions? The implications of gender differences in decision-making style and self-confidence

Decision-Making Style in Leaders: Uncovering Cognitive Motivation Using Signature Movement Patterns

Leaders can and do vary substantially in their decision-making styles. One promising approach for capturing such variation is to analyze signature movement patterns that reflect cognitive priorities and motivations manifested during various stages of the decision making process. Prior work has shown that Assertion and Perspective—two broad dimensions of decision-making style derived from application of Movement Pattern Analysis (MPA)—reliably predict individual differences in decision making process as assessed experimentally. In this study, we examine underlying motivational propensities as applied by leaders across stages of the decision-making process to illuminate the most salient indicators of decision-making style, ones that are predictive of variations in decision-making behavior. Motivations across three stages of decision making revealed by MPA—Attention, Intention, and Commitment—were recorded from observational data by trained coders. While individual differences were notable across all three stages, those associated with Intention were most predictive of two indicators of decision-making process recorded during laboratory assessment. The implications of this work for capturing indicators of motivational bases of individual differences in decision-making style in high-level leaders are discussed.

Good Thinking or Gut Feeling? Cognitive Reflection and Intuition in Traders, Bankers and Financial Non-Experts

The current study investigated differences in decision-making style and risk-taking between financial traders, non-trading bank employees, and people not working in finance. Traders scored significantly higher than participants in the other two groups on the cognitive reflection test (CRT) which measures the tendency to inhibit automatic but frequently false responses in reasoning tasks. Scores for traders compared to people outside the banking sector were also higher on a self-rated scale for reflective thinking in decision-making, but there were no differences in self-rated intuitive thinking between groups. Financial risk-taking correlated with cognitive reflection scores and was significantly lower in the non-expert group compared to the other groups working in financial services. Traders in the current study showed no elevated preference to use ‘intuition’ in their decision-making compared to other groups. Overall, these results indicate that compared to non-expert participants financial traders have a higher self-rated tendency for reflective thinking and a greater propensity to inhibit the use of mental shortcuts (heuristics) in decision-making.

Decision-Making Styles among Norwegian Soccer Coaches: An Analysis of Decision-Making Style in Relation to Elite and Non-Elite Coaching and Level of Playing History

The purpose of this study was to investigate soccer coaches' decision-making styles in relation to elite and non-elite coaching experience and level of playing history. A basic assumption was that leader efficiency in soccer is heavily dependent on the quality of the coach's decisions. Efficient decisions are related to experience, and it is not unreasonable that involvement in the soccer context is associated with differences in decision-making style. In this study, decision-making style was defined as a learned habitual response pattern exhibited by an individual when confronted with a decision situation. To assess coaches' decision-making style, we used the General Decision-Making Style (GDMS) scale. Ninety-nine male football coaches in Norway with a mean age of 41 and mean coaching experience of 13.26 years volunteered to participate in the study. The results show that soccer coaches tend to be predominantly rational or intuitive in their decision-making style, with almost no evidence of the avoidant decision-making style. Experts in a domain are characterised by greater use of intuition in their decision-making than non-experts. The results support this assumption, showing that coaches with elite coaching experience seem to have a greater preference for intuitive or rational decision-making style than do other coaches. Soccer coaches with elite-level player experience also use intuitive or rational decision-making styles significantly more often than coaches lacking such experience, suggesting a connection between involvement in a community of practice and soccer coaches' decision-making style. Further research should expand our scientific knowledge about how soccer coaches make decisions in different contexts and clarify strategies for facilitating decision-making in coaching.

Predicting individual differences in decision-making process from signature movement styles: an illustrative study of leaders

There has been a surge of interest in examining the utility of methods for capturing individual differences in decision-making style. We illustrate the potential offered by Movement Pattern Analysis (MPA), an observational methodology that has been used in business and by the US Department of Defense to record body movements that provide predictive insight into individual differences in decision-making motivations and actions. Twelve military officers participated in an intensive 2-h interview that permitted detailed and fine-grained observation and coding of signature movements by trained practitioners using MPA. Three months later, these subjects completed four hypothetical decision-making tasks in which the amount of information sought out before coming to a decision, as well as the time spent on the tasks, were under the partial control of the subject. A composite MPA indicator of how a person allocates decision-making actions and motivations to balance both Assertion (exertion of tangible movement effort on the environment to make something occur) and Perspective (through movements that support shaping in the body to perceive and create a suitable viewpoint for action) was highly correlated with the total number of information draws and total response time—individuals high on Assertion reached for less information and had faster response times than those high on Perspective. Discussion focuses on the utility of using movement-based observational measures to capture individual differences in decision-making style and the implications for application in applied settings geared toward investigations of experienced leaders and world statesmen where individuality rules the day.

Individual Differences in Decision‐making Competence

Throughout their lives, people make decisions about their health, finances, and environmental impacts. Research on decision-making competence examines the decision-making skills people need to improve their real-world decisions and to obtain better life decision outcomes (Bruine de Bruin, Parker, & Fischhoff, 2007; Parker & Fischhoff, 2005). If critical decision-making skills can be improved through teaching and decision support, this research ultimately brings the promise of designing interventions that improve the outcomes of people's decisions and, hence, their overall quality of life. In addition to having practical implications, research on decision-making competence contributes important theoretical and methodological insights to the field of judgment and decision-making. Theoretically, research on decision-making competence improves our understanding of the cognitive and non-cognitive processes that shape people's ability to make decisions, as well as their development throughout the lifespan (for reviews, see Bruine de Bruin, Parker, & Fischhoff, 2011; Finucane & Lees, 2005; Peters & Bruine de Bruin, in press; Peters, Hess, Auman, & Vastfjall, 2007). Methodologically, research on decision-making competence aims to improve the reliability of commonly studied judgment and decisionmaking tasks, seen in consistent performance across decision problems, as well as their validity, seen in relationships to obtaining better life decision outcomes. Moreover, it stimulates the use of more sophisticated data analysis methods, in particular, model comparison techniques (e.g., Tomlinson, Marewski, & Dougherty, 2011). Despite its potential promise, the topic of individual differences in decision-making competence has received relatively little attention in the field of judgment and decision-making. Possibly, this scarcity is due to researchers having traditionally focused on identifying decision-making biases, and on the situational conditions rather than the individual differences that contribute to these biases. Furthermore, studying individual differences often requires access to diverse populations that vary in their decision-making competence and life experiences, and the means to recruit samples that are large enough to provide statistical power. Moreover, validating individual-differences measures poses the challenge of identifying objective criterion variables that provide unambiguous evidence of good decision-making (Finucane & Lees, 2005; see also Stanovich & West, 2000). Possibly, researchers have also been discouraged by studies on individual differences in decision-making styles, which have identified few stable personal characteristics that consistently affect decision-making across tasks and contexts (Appelt, Milch, Handgraaf & Weber, 2011). Yet, the few studies that have examined individual differences in decision-making competence have shown the feasibility of overcoming these challenges (Appelbaum & Grisso, 1988; Del Missier, Mantyla & Bruine de Bruin, 2011; Finucane et al., 2002; Finucane & Guillon, 2010; Finucane & Lees, 2005; Finucane, Mertz, Slovic, & Schmidt, 2005; Parker & Fischhoff, 2005; Smith, Shanteau, & Johnson, 2004), with recent work introducing valid and reliable instruments targeting various age groups (Bruine de Bruin et al., 2007; Finucane & Guillon, 2010; Parker & Fischhoff, 2005). This special issue of the Journal of Behavioral Decision-Making aims to swell interest in decision-making competence through the presentation of novel research efforts.

Individual Differences in Rater Decision-Making Style: An Exploratory Mixed-Methods Study

Researchers of high-stakes, subjectively scored writing assessments have done much work to better understand the process that raters go through in applying a rating scale to a language performance to arrive at a score. However, there is still unexplained, systematic variability in rater scoring that resists rater training (see Hoyt & Kerns, 1999; McNamara, 1996; Weigle, 2002; Weir, 2005). The consideration of individual differences in rater cognition may explain some of this rater variability. This mixed-method exploratory case study (Yin, 2009) examined rater decision making in a high-stakes writing assessment for preservice teachers in Quebec, Canada, focussing on individual differences in decision-making style, or “stylistic differences in cognitive style that could affect decision-making” (Thunholm, 2004, p. 932). The General Decision Making Style Inventory questionnaire (Scott & Bruce, 1995) was administered to six raters of a high-stakes writing exam in Quebec, and information on the following rater behaviours was also collected for their potential for providing additional information on individual decision-making style (DMS): (a) the frequency at which a rater decides to defer his or her score, (b) the underuse of failing score levels, and (c) the comments provided by raters during the exam rating about their decisions (collected through “write-aloud” protocols; Gigerenzer & Hoffrage, 1995). The relative merits of each of these sources of data are discussed in terms of their potential for tapping into the construct of rater DMS. Although score effects of DMS have yet to be established, it is concluded that despite the exploratory nature of this study, there is potential for the consideration of individual sociocognitive differences in accounting for some rater variability in scoring.

Decision making styles East and West: Is it time to move beyond cross-cultural research?

Cultural differences in decision making styles were explored using the conflict model of decision making (Janis and Mann, 1977). Six hundred and seventy three university students in Australia, Malaysia, and Singapore (Mean age of 20.2 years; SD=5.4) were tested on the Melbourne Decision Making Questionnaire (Mann, Burnett, Radford, and Ford, 1997) to explore cultural, gender, and age differences between these three countries. Vigilance scores were higher for Malaysian and Australian respondents compared to Singaporeans. Hyper-vigilance scores were higher for Malaysian while buck-passing and procrastination scores were lower for Malaysian than for Australian and Singaporean respondents. Women reported higher scores on hyper-vigilance than males for all three countries. However, buck-passing scores were significantly higher for women than men only for the Australian respondents. There were significant positive correlations between vigilant decision making and age, and significant negative correlations between non-vigilant decision making patterns and age. A country analysis indicated that these results were significant for the Australian and the Malaysian sample only. These results are discussed in terms of cultural differences, some of which are reflected in the Hofstede (2001) comparison of cultures on beliefs, values, and behaviours. Further research is suggested that may reflect aspects of the global shift towards more common patterns of thinking across culture, which is influenced by access to media and internet information, as well as increased travel and commerce in an attempt to understand how local decisions may have global impacts. Implications of this research suggest that culture may be too broad a concept and that other more sensitive variable should be examined when conducting cross-cultural research. Key words: Decision making, vigilance, hyper-vigilance, procrastination, buck-passing, culture.

Influence of National Culture on Decision-Making Style

Influence of National Culture on Decision-Making StyleThe reality of international business is often a confrontation with failures and difficulties that are a result of a lack of understanding of cultural background, and not market conditions. The decision-making process depends on cultural background and choice of "the right way" - decision-making styles are dependent on the values and beliefs of the people involved in the decision-making process. Considering the fact that Western managers often neglect cultural differences present in the CEE context, the objective of this research was to point out the cultural similarities and differences in decision-making styles between Croatia, Slovenia and Hungary. A narrow-sample strategy was used in empirical research that confirmed that cultural values do influence decisions and decision-making styles and the hypothesis was accepted through X2 test analysis between Hofstede's dimensions of national culture and decision-making style.

Cultural differences in decision making in project teams

Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to report on research in cultural differences in decision-making styles in project teams composed of team members from different nationalities. Differences in ...

Public-Academic Partnerships: Improving Care for Older Persons With Schizophrenia Through an Academic-Community Partnership

Public-Academic Partnerships: Improving Care for Older Persons With Schizophrenia Through an Academic-Community Partnership