Underlying Decision Processes Research Articles

Conflict in moral and nonmoral decision making: an empirical study coupled with a computational model.

While moral psychology research has extensively studied decision making using moral dilemmas, such high-conflict situations may not fully represent all moral decisions. Moreover, most studies on the effect of conflict have focused on nonmoral decisions, and it is unclear how it applies to the moral realm. The present mixed-method research investigates how conflict impacts moral compared to nonmoral decision making. In a preregistered empirical study ( ), participants made moral and nonmoral decisions with varying levels of conflict while their mouse trajectories were recorded. Results indicate that moral decisions were more stable in the presence of conflict, while still seeking compromise. In addition, decisions were more affected when conflict got higher. Mouse-tracking data further indicate that some factors are impacting the decision process earlier than others, supporting the relevance of tracing methods to dig into finer-grained decision dynamics. We also present a computational model that aims to capture decision mechanisms and how conflict and morality influence decision making. The model uses dynamic neural fields coupled with sensorimotor control to map a continuous decision space. Two model versions were compared: one with greater perceptual weight for moral information, and another with earlier processing of moral versus nonmoral information. The simulated data more successfully reproduced empirical patterns for the second version, thus providing insights into the underlying decision processes for both moral and nonmoral decisions, in the presence of conflict or not.

Focusing on Future Consequences Enhances Self-Controlled Dietary Choices.

Self-controlled dietary decisions, i.e., choosing a healthier food over a tastier one, are a major challenge for many people. Despite the potential profound consequences of frequent poor choices, maintaining a healthy diet proves challenging. This raises the question of how to facilitate self-controlled food decisions to promote healthier choices. The present study compared the influence of implicit and explicit information on food choices and their underlying decision processes. Participants watched two video clips as an implicit manipulation to induce different mindsets. Instructions to focus on either the short-term or long-term consequences of choices served as an explicit manipulation. Participants performed a binary food choice task, including foods with different health and taste values. The choice was made using a computer mouse, whose trajectories we used to calculate the influence of the food properties. Instruction to focus on long-term consequences compared to short-term consequences increased the number of healthy choices, reduced response times for healthy decisions, and increased the influence of health aspects during the decision-making process. The effect of video manipulation showed greater variability. While focusing on long-term consequences facilitated healthy food choices and reduced the underlying decision conflict, the current mindset appeared to have a minor influence.

Patient perspectives on factors influencing active surveillance adherence for low-risk prostate cancer: A qualitative study.

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among men in the United States. Treatment guidelines recommend active surveillance for low-risk prostate cancer, which involves monitoring for progression, to avoid or delay definitive treatments and their side effects. Despite increased uptake, adherence to surveillance remains a challenge. We conducted semi-structured, qualitative, virtual interviews based on the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF), with men (15) who were or had been on active surveillance for their low-risk prostate cancer in 2020. Interviews were transcribed and coded under TDF's behavioral theory-based domains. We analyzed domains related to adherence to surveillance using constructivist grounded theory to identify themes influencing decision processes in adherence. The TDF domains of emotion, beliefs about consequences, environmental context and resources, and social influences were most relevant to surveillance adherence-. From these four TDF domains, three themes emerged as underlying decision processes: trust in surveillance as treatment, quality of life, and experiences of self and others. Positive perceptions of these three themes supported adherence while negative perceptions contributed to non-adherence (i.e., not receiving follow-up or stopping surveillance). The relationship between the TDF domains and themes provided a theoretical process describing factors impacting active surveillance adherence for men with low-risk prostate cancer. Men identified key factors impacting active surveillance adherence that provide opportunities for clinical implementation and practice improvement. Future efforts should focus on multi-level interventions that foster trust in surveillance as treatment, emphasize quality of life benefits and enhance patients' interpersonal experiences while on surveillance to optimize adherence.

Knowledge, Information, and Data Readiness Levels (KaRLs) for Risk Assessment, Communication, and Governance of Nano-, New, and Other Advanced Materials.

The obvious benefits derived from the increasing use of engineered nano-, new, and advanced materials and associated products have to be weighed out by a governance process against their possible risks. Differences in risk perception (beliefs about potential harm) among stakeholders, in particular nonscientists, and low transparency of the underlying decision processes can lead to a lack of support and acceptance of nano-, new, and other advanced material enabled products. To integrate scientific outcomes with stakeholders needs, this work develops a new approach comprising a nine-level, stepwise categorization and guidance system entitled "Knowledge, Information, and Data Readiness Levels" (KaRLs), analogous to the NASA Technology Readiness Levels. The KaRL system assesses the type, extent, and usability of the available data, information, and knowledge and integrates the participation of relevant and interested stakeholders in a cocreation/codesign process to improve current risk assessment, communication, and governance. The novelty of the new system is to communicate and share all available and relevant elements on material related risks in a user/stakeholder-friendly, transparent, flexible, and holistic way and so stimulate reflection, awareness, communication, and a deeper understanding that ultimately enables the discursive process that is needed for the sustainable risk governance of new materials.

An exploration of expectations and perceptions of practicing physicians on the implementation of computerized clinical decision support systems using a Qsort approach

BackgroundThere is increasing interest in incorporating clinical decision support (CDS) into electronic healthcare records (EHR). Successful implementation of CDS systems depends on acceptance of them by healthcare workers. We used a mix of quantitative and qualitative methods starting from Qsort methodology to explore expectations and perceptions of practicing physicians on the use of CDS incorporated in EHR.MethodsThe study was performed in a large tertiary care academic hospital. We used a mixed approach with a Q-sort based classification of pre-defined reactions to clinical case vignettes combined with a thinking-aloud approach, taking into account COREQ recommendations The open source software of Ken-Q Analysis version 1.0.6. was used for the quantitative analysis, using principal components and a Varimax rotation. For the qualitative analysis, a thematic analysis based on the four main themes was performed based on the audiotapes and field notes.ResultsThirty physicians were interviewed (7 in training, 8 junior staff and 15 senior staff; 16 females). Nearly all respondents were strongly averse towards interruptive messages, especially when these also were obstructive. Obstructive interruption was considered to be acceptable only when it increases safety, is adjustable to user expertise level and/or allows deviations when the end-user explains why a deviation is desirable in the case at issue. Transparency was deemed an essential feature, which seems to boil down to providing sufficient clarification on the factors underlying the recommendations of the CDS, so that these can be compared against the physicians’ existing knowledge, beliefs and convictions.ConclusionAvoidance of disruptive workflows and transparency of the underlying decision processes are important points to consider when developing CDS systems incorporated in EHR.

The Effects of Intent, Outcome, and Causality on Moral Judgments and Decision Processes.

Over the past decade, moral judgments and their underlying decision processes have more frequently been considered from a dynamic and multi-factorial perspective rather than a binary approach (e.g., dual-system processes). The agent’s intent and his or her causal role in the outcome–as well as the outcome importance–are key psychological factors that influence moral decisions, especially judgments of punishment. The current research aimed to study the influence of intent, outcome, and causality variations on moral decisions, and to identify their interaction during the decision process by embedding the moral scenarios within an adapted mouse-tracking paradigm. Findings of the preregistered study (final n = 80) revealed main effects for intent, outcome, and causality on judgments of punishment, and an interaction between the effects of intent and causality. We furthermore explored the dynamics of these effects during the decision process via the analysis of mouse trajectories in the course of time. It allowed detecting when these factors intervened during the trial time course. The present findings thus both replicate and extend previous research on moral judgment, and evidence that, despite some ongoing challenges, mouse-tracking represents a promising tool to investigate moral decision-making.

Application of machine learning with a surrogate model to explore seniors’ daily activity patterns

ABSTRACT Investigating seniors’ daily activity patterns (DAPs) is essential to understand their activity-travel needs. Although some studies have applied machine learning (ML) to derive DAPs, few of them have sought to improve the interpretability of ML. This study aims to predict and interpret seniors’ DAPs in the Chinese context by using ML with a surrogate model. First, a boosted C5.0 algorithm was employed to model seniors’ DAPs, which provided more accurate predictions than the multinomial logit (MNL) model. Second, a rule-based C5.0 algorithm was used as a surrogate model to approximate the prediction function of the boosted C5.0 algorithm and to provide insight into the underlying decision processes in the boosted C5.0 algorithm. The results show that retired men are most likely to lack out-of-home activities. A good residential built environment, especially good walkability and public transit accessibility, increases seniors’ out-of-home activities. This study provides recommendations for increasing seniors’ mobility.

Multiple behavioral rules in Cournot oligopolies

We study intra-individual behavioral heterogeneity in an experimental Cournot oligopoly. Previous empirical results in this setting have demonstrated convergence to competitive outcomes, in agreement with theoretical predictions assuming that players imitate successful opponents. We postulate that players sometimes rely on imitation of successful behavior, and sometimes best reply to the actions of others. Testable predictions are obtained from a model allowing for multiple behavioral rules which accounts for differences in the cognitive nature of the underlying decision processes. Those include non-trivial response time interactions depending on whether the rules share a common prescription (alignment) or not (conflict), a classification which is ex ante observable. The results confirm the hypotheses and support the presence of multiple behavioral rules at the individual level.

Information use in risky decision making: Do age differences depend on affective context?

The current study focused on the degree to which decision context (deliberative vs. affective) differentially impacted the use of available information about uncertainty (i.e., probability, positive and negative outcome magnitudes, expected value, and variance/risk) when older adults were faced with decisions under risk. In addition, we examined whether individual differences in general mental ability and executive function moderated the associations between age and information use. Participants (N = 96) completed a neuropsychological assessment and the hot (affective) and cold (deliberative) versions of an explicit risk task. Our results did not find a significant Age × Hot/Cold Condition interaction on overall risk-taking. However, we found that older adults were less likely to use the full decision information available regardless of the decision context. This finding suggested more global age differences in information use. Moreover, older adults were less likely to make expected-value sensitive decisions, regardless of the hot/cold context. Finally, we found that low performance on measures of executive functioning, but not general mental ability, appears to be a risk factor for lower information use. This pattern appears in middle age and progressively becomes stronger in older age. The current work provides evidence that common underlying decision processes may operate in risk tasks deemed either affective or deliberative. It further suggests that underlying mechanisms such as information use may be paramount, relative to differences in the affective context. Additionally, individual differences in neuropsychological function may act as a moderator in the tendency to use available information across affective context. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

The validity and consistency of continuous joystick response in perceptual decision-making

A computer joystick is an efficient and cost-effective response device for recording continuous movements in psychological experiments. Movement trajectories and other measures from continuous responses have expanded the insights gained from discrete responses (e.g., button presses) by providing unique information about how cognitive processes unfold over time. However, few studies have evaluated the validity of joystick responses with reference to conventional key presses, and how response modality can affect cognitive processes. Here we systematically compared human participants’ behavioral performance of perceptual decision-making when they responded with either joystick movements or key presses in a four-alternative motion discrimination task. We found evidence that the response modality did not affect raw behavioral measures, including decision accuracy and mean response time, at the group level. Furthermore, to compare the underlying decision processes between the two response modalities, we fitted a drift-diffusion model of decision-making to individual participants’ behavioral data. Bayesian analyses of the model parameters showed no evidence that switching from key presses to continuous joystick movements modulated the decision-making process. These results supported continuous joystick actions as a valid apparatus for continuous movements, although we highlight the need for caution when conducting experiments with continuous movement responses.

The dynamics of self-control: within-participant modeling of binary food choices and underlying decision processes as a function of restrained eating

Successful self-control during food choice might require inhibition of impulses to avoid indulging in tempting but calorie-dense foods, and this might particularly apply to individuals restraining their food intake. Adopting a novel within-participant modeling approach, we tested 62 females during a mouse-tracking based binary food choice task. Subsequent ratings of foods on palatability, healthiness, and calorie density were modeled as predictors for both decision outcome (choice) and decision process (measures of self-control conflict) while considering the moderating role of restrained eating. Results revealed that individuals higher on restrained eating were less likely to choose more high-calorie foods and showed less self-control conflict when choosing healthier foods. The latter finding is in contrast with the common assumption of self-control as requiring effortful and conscious inhibition of temptation impulses. Interestingly, restrained eaters rated healthy and low-calorie foods as more palatable than individuals with lower restrained eating scores, both in the main experiment and an independent replication study, hinting at an automatic and rather effortless mechanism of self-control (palatability shift) that obviates effortful inhibition of temptation impulses.

Signal detection theory and psychoacoustics

This talk will trace the early history of signal detection theory (SDT) with a particular emphasis on its applications in psychoacoustics. SDT, as developed at the University of Michigan (U-M) in the mid-1950s, revolutionized psychophysics by introducing a core assumption: all sensory judgements are limited by “noise” of one sort or another and, as such, are reflective of underlying decision processes. To test and flesh-out this new theory, early empirical work in vision quickly turned to audition and a remarkably fruitful 12-year period followed, from roughly 1954 to 1966. This talk will focus on that 12-year period, bracketed, on the one end, by the establishment of an auditory research laboratory at U-M by Wilson P. “Spike” Tanner and, on the other, by the publication of Green and Swets’ (1966) seminal text. The principle documents and publications of that period—particularly those that appeared in this society’s Journal—will be reviewed, with a discussion of their intellectual and historical context. Emphasis will be given to the investigations of the Electronic Defense Group at U-M and those of other legendary psychoacousticians. In particular, the work of Tanner, the key instigator in the transition from “statistical decision theory” to SDT in psychoacoustics, will be discussed.

Multiple Behavioral Rules in Cournot Oligopolies

We study intra-individual behavioral heterogeneity in an experimental Cournot oligopoly. Previous empirical results in this setting have demonstrated convergence to competitive outcomes, in agreement with theoretical predictions assuming that players imitate successful opponents. We postulate that players sometimes rely on imitation of successful behavior, and sometimes best reply to the actions of others. Testable predictions are obtained from a model allowing for multiple behavioral rules which accounts for differences in the cognitive nature of the underlying decision processes. Those include non-trivial response time interactions depending on whether the rules share a common prescription (alignment) or not (conflict), a classification which is ex ante observable. The results confirm the hypotheses and support the presence of multiple behavioral rules at the individual level.

Electrophysiological correlates of integrating choice and response time during sequential decision making

Response times (RTs) can provide valuable information about a person’s underlying decision processes. To investigate electrophysiological correlates of integrating choice and RTs, ERPs elicited by belief updating in long response times condition (Long-RTs) were compared with those in short response times condition (Short-RTs). In both kinds of conditions, three fictitious persons were arranged in random order (P1, P2, P3) and predicted uncertain state of world. P3 took a long time in Long-RTs condition. In Short-RTs condition P3 rapidly made decisions. Participants’ task was to infer P3’s private signal after observing three fictitious persons’ same choice and P3’s RTs. ERP results revealed that frontal P200 and N200 distinguished between the two conditions. P200 showed a higher amplitude in Short-RTs condition and might represent early stage valuations of task-relevant perceptual information. N200 showed a more negative amplitude in Long-RTs condition and might reflect conflict between participants’ prior knowledge about P3’s private signal and P3’s long RTs. Our study demonstrates that RTs is an indicator of choice and identifies the temporal process of integrating choice and response time during sequential decision making.

If there's a penis, it's most likely a man: Investigating the social construction of gender using eye tracking.

In their foundational work on the social construction of gender, Kessler and McKenna (1978) investigated the relationship between gender attribution and genital attribution. We used digital reproductions of the original stimuli to replicate their findings in the current social context. To further investigate the underlying decision processes we applied eye tracking. The stimuli shown varied in the composition of gender cues: from those more commonly associated with maleness to associated with femaleness. Applying the ethnomethodological approach originally used, participants were asked to decide for each stimulus whether they saw a man or a woman and to indicate subjective confidence with the decision. In line with the original results we found that the genital attribution contributed immensely to the gender attribution. Also, male gender was ascribed more often when the penis was present than was female gender when the vulva was shown. Eye tracking revealed that overall most dwell time as a proxy for important information was dedicated to the head, chest and genital areas of all the stimuli. Total dwell time depended on whether the gender attribution was made in line with the depicted genital, if the genital was a penis. Attributing female gender when a penis was present was associated with longer total dwell time, unlike attributing male gender with a vulva shown. This is indicative of higher cognitive effort and more difficulty ignoring the penis as opposed to the vulva. We interpret this finding in context of the persistent male dominance as well as to the socio-cultural understanding of the vulva as a concealed and therefore seemingly absent organ. In summary, we were able to show that the gender attribution is still closely linked to genital attribution when having a binary forced choice task and that the penis is a special cue in this attribution process.

How do investors decide? An interdisciplinary review of decision-making in crowdfunding

Crowdfunding is on the rise: its volume grew 1000% in only three years and is about to outpace worldwide venture capital spending. A quickly growing body of research is exploring the emerging crowdfunding phenomenon. While the literature offers a detailed and comprehensive picture of decision-making for traditional startup financing or bank loans, it does not provide a holistic understanding of decisions to invest in crowdfunded ventures. Many individual studies investigate isolated factors that influence investor decision-making in crowdfunding campaigns without integrating the findings regarding those influences. A comprehensive view of the relevant decision-making factors is necessary to build future research on and for practitioners to gain a better understanding of how investors choose. We conduct an interdisciplinary literature review to examine which factors influence the investment decisions in crowdfunding. From an analysis of 68 articles, we construct a comprehensive framework of relevant influence factors. Even though prior research covers many factors, others have received scant attention. Especially investors’ cognitive features and the context in which the investment decision is made seem to strongly influence decisions but are scarcely researched. In addition, most reviewed studies focus more on individual factors and campaign success than underlying decision processes. To highlight novel factors of crowdfunding investment decisions, we compare decision-making in traditional investments, such as venture capital and bank loans, to crowdfunding. Our findings offer new avenues for research toward understanding how the shift induced by crowdfunding changes our choices and actions. The analysis should support the endeavor to build better theories and provide a basis for further social and technological development.

The Attentional Drift Diffusion Model of Simple Perceptual Decision-Making.

Perceptual decisions requiring the comparison of spatially distributed stimuli that are fixated sequentially might be influenced by fluctuations in visual attention. We used two psychophysical tasks with human subjects to investigate the extent to which visual attention influences simple perceptual choices, and to test the extent to which the attentional Drift Diffusion Model (aDDM) provides a good computational description of how attention affects the underlying decision processes. We find evidence for sizable attentional choice biases and that the aDDM provides a reasonable quantitative description of the relationship between fluctuations in visual attention, choices and reaction times. We also find that exogenous manipulations of attention induce choice biases consistent with the predictions of the model.

School travel mode choice in Beijing, China

This study explores school travel mode choice behavior of 7–18year-old students in Beijing, China, based on the data collected in Fifth Travel Survey of Beijing Inhabitants. The integration of tree-based and logit-based models is employed to examine the influence of key variables on school travel mode choice. In particular, the tree-based model is used to preliminarily select the traits which have a statistical effect on mode choice, and the logit-based model is used to provide deeper understanding of the underlying decision processes and the correlation effects of the variables. Results show that car ownership, poor walking/cycling environment, and adults' convenience for escorting students significantly stimulate the use of cars in school commuting. Students are more inclined to choose cars when their departure time is at rush hour compared to the other time. Moreover, the longer distance encourages the use of motorized transport, where the households with local hukou (usually related to the car ownership and other welfares) are more willing to drive their children to school. A number of recommendations on car restraint, sustainable travel environment improvement, different working hour implementing, and educational resources layout for the encouragement and promotion of sustainable travel practices are lastly proposed.

Decision-Making Processes in Social Contexts.

Over the past half-century, scholars in the interdisciplinary field of Judgment and Decision Making have amassed a trove of findings, theories, and prescriptions regarding the processes ordinary people enact when making choices. But this body of knowledge has had little influence on sociology. Sociological research on choice emphasizes how features of the social environment shape individual behavior, not people's underlying decision processes. Our aim in this article is to provide an overview of selected ideas, models, and data sources from decision research that can fuel new lines of inquiry on how socially situated actors navigate both everyday and major life choices. We also highlight opportunities and challenges for cross-fertilization between sociology and decision research that can allow the methods, findings, and contexts of each field to expand their joint range of inquiry.

Testing the validity of conflict drift-diffusion models for use in estimating cognitive processes: A parameter-recovery study.

Researchers and clinicians are interested in estimating individual differences in the ability to process conflicting information. Conflict processing is typically assessed by comparing behavioral measures like RTs or error rates from conflict tasks. However, these measures are hard to interpret because they can be influenced by additional processes like response caution or bias. This limitation can be circumvented by employing cognitive models to decompose behavioral data into components of underlying decision processes, providing better specificity for investigating individual differences. A new class of drift-diffusion models has been developed for conflict tasks, presenting a potential tool to improve analysis of individual differences in conflict processing. However, measures from these models have not been validated for use in experiments with limited data collection. The present study assessed the validity of these models with a parameter-recovery study to determine whether and under what circumstances the models provide valid measures of cognitive processing. Three models were tested: the dual-stage two-phase model (Hübner, Steinhauser, & Lehle, Psychological Review, 117(3), 759-784, 2010), the shrinking spotlight model (White, Ratcliff, & Starns, Cognitive Psychology, 63(4), 210-238, 2011), and the diffusion model for conflict tasks (Ulrich, Schröter, Leuthold, & Birngruber, Cogntive Psychology, 78, 148-174, 2015). The validity of the model parameters was assessed using different methods of fitting the data and different numbers of trials. The results show that each model has limitations in recovering valid parameters, but they can be mitigated by adding constraints to the model. Practical recommendations are provided for when and how each model can be used to analyze data and provide measures of processing in conflict tasks.