Dynamic adjustments of cognitive control during economic decision making

Decision making in the Ultimatum game requires the resolution of conflicts between economic self-interest and fairness intuitions. Since cognitive control processes play an important role in conflict resolution, the present study examined how control processes that are triggered by conflicts between fairness and self-interest in unfair offers affect subsequent decisions in the Ultimatum game. Our results revealed that more unfair offers were accepted following previously unfair, compared to previously fair offers. Interestingly, the magnitude of this conflict adaptation effect correlated with the individual subjects' focus on economic self-interest. We concluded that conflicts between fairness and self-interest trigger cognitive control processes, which reinforce the focus on the current task goal.     

Dynamic multi-criteria decision making

Most medium-and long-term decision making in industry and government can be viewed as dynamic multi-criteria decision making (MCDM), in which the decision makers are free to alter the emphasis placed on each objective in the light of developing circumstances. In this paper the problem of time-dependent weights in MCDM is discussed and an analysis of empirical data associated with dynamic decision making is presented.     

Dynamic decision making: a comparison of approaches

This paper is concerned with a specific type of problem, namely dynamic decisions, for which most techniques fail to provide adequate solutions. Here, we present two of the most promising optimization techniques, partially observable Markov decision processes (POMDP) and dynamic decision networks (DDN), while arguing which is the most suitable for this problem domain. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Altering information to gain action control: Functional aspects of human information processing in decision making

In recent approaches to social judgment, information distortion has been discussed primarily as a violation of individual rationality, due to unintentionally occurring biases. In contrast to this view, it is argued that frequently individuals make purposive use of selective changes in information processing in order to avoid indecisiveness. In this sense, selective changes in information processing may be considered a functional requirement of a volitional process which protects the current intention (or tentative decision) from being replaced by competing behavioral tendencies. On the basis of J. Kuhl's theory of action control (1981, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 40, 155–170; 1982, in W. Hacker, W. Volpert, & M. von Cranach, Eds., Cognitive and Motivational Aspects of Action, Amsterdam: North-Holland, 1984, in B. A. Maher, Progress in Experimental Personality Research, Vol. 13, New York: Academic Press) it was predicted that subjects having a high score on the action-control scale (i.e., action-oriented subjects) should show a stronger tendency to increase the attractiveness rating of a tentatively preferred decision during the process of decision making than subjects scoring low on that scale (i.e., state-oriented subjects). To test this assumption, students searching for an apartment were offered 16 apartments along with a list containing information about the alternatives. The subjects had to rate the attractiveness of each apartment twice before they were asked to indicate which apartments they would like to rent. The results confirmed the predictions. It was found that action-oriented subjects increased the divergence of their attractiveness ratings from the first to the second point of evaluation, whereas state-oriented subjects did not.     

Affective bias in complex decision making: Modulating sensitivity to aversive feedback

The present study investigated the conflict between well-developed attitudes and incentive rewards using the Iowa Gambling Task. In particular, the incorporation of emotional labels allowed us to model the role of affective biases and their impact on complex decision making over time. Two experiments manipulated the class of deck label (emotional pictures and racial faces) using both congruent and incongruent association to the deck incentives. Both experiments demonstrated that an incongruent association can lead to striking and persistent decision making biases. Thus, a common theme was a general inability to tolerate conflict between rewards and goal-irrelevant labels. Notably, Experiment 2 demonstrated that this ‘incongruency’ effect appeared to result from positive labels interfering with aversive experiences from bad decks. More generally, sensitivity to accumulating losses from punishing decks was primarily associated with successful performance on these Gambling Task variants. These results suggest emotional biases are readily harmful in complex decision making, and that flexibility in the extent to which we permit emotional influences to guide our decisions is crucial.     

Effects of information relevance on decision making in complex environments

Previous research based on predictions of complexity theory has often varied information load and measured characteristics of group decision making. A reinterpretation of related data on success and failure effects suggests that the obtained load effects may be confounded by simultaneous variation of information load and information relevance. To begin studying the separate effects of the two variables, information load was held constant at the previously determined optimal level and information relevance was varied as a proportion of load. It was found that integrated decision making (a complex decision response) was modified by changes in information relevance; but that respondent decision making and information search (simple decision responses) did not change. The results were tentatively interpreted to suggest that complex decision making varies with relevance, while simple decision making varies with information load. It was suggested that complexity theory might be correspondingly modified.     

A systems approach to decision making on student services

It is argued that student services in higher education need to be made more accountable. A systems approach to planning and evaluation is outlined, and problems of resource allocation and of performance measurement are discussed. Some research problems are also indicated. It is suggested that a system of the kind proposed will enable wider use to be made of limited resources.     

Price-directive decision making in hierarchical systems with conflicting preferences

In this paper we consider a classical model of price-directive decision making in hierarchical organizations, namely Dantzig-Wolfe decomposition, well known from single-objective programming. Here, however, we allow for preference differences that are usually observed between a central unit and a subunit in an organizational structure. The procedure models, therefore, how decision making may evolve in a context with decentralized information as well as intra- and interpersonal conflicts. Several numerical experiments with the procedure have been performed. The results of those experiments demonstrate that the procedure in many instances converges towards an efficient solution, despite the differences in the criteria weights used in the master problem and the subproblem respectively. This suggests that some amount of goal discordance need not prohibit efficient decision making in a hierarchical organization.     

Implicit motor learning and complex decision making in time-constrained environments

The cost-effectiveness of the implicit (procedural) knowledge that supports motor expertise enables surprisingly efficient performance when a decision and an action must occur in close temporal proximity. The authors argue that if novices learn the motor component of performance implicitly rather than explicitly, then they will also be efficient when they make a decision and execute an action in close temporal proximity. Participants (N = 35) learned a table tennis shot implicitly or explicitly. The authors assessed participants' motor performance and movement kinematics under conditions that required a concurrent low-complexity decision or a concurrent high-complexity decision about where to direct each shot. Performance was disrupted only for participants who learned explicitly when they made high-complexity decisions but not when they made low-complexity decisions. The authors conclude that implicit motor learning encourages cognitively efficient motor control more than does explicit motor learning, which allows performance to remain stable when time constraints call for a complex decision in tandem with a motor action.     

A convex approach for multicriteria decision making in hierarchical systems

In this paper hierarchical multicriteria optimization problems are addressed in a convex programming framework. It is assumed that the criteria are aggregated into a nonlinear function, which renders the problem nonseparable, in general. The projection of the problem onto the criteria space is used to obtain an equivalent separable problem, solved through a relaxation procedure implemented on basis of a multilevel structure. At the upper level of the structure, the decision making process involves the solution of a multicriteria problem formulated in the criteria space. The solution encountered at the upper level originates a lower level parametric optimization problem with separable structure that can be treated by standard coordination-decomposition techniques. The convergence of the overall procedure is ensured. The paper includes an application of the approach proposed for the control of dynamic systems with linear quadratic structure. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Subjective valuation and asymmetrical motivational systems: implications of scope insensitivity for decision making

Studies using the Iowa Gambling Task have revealed individual differences in performance on the task. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that approach and avoidance motivations influence decision making through the process of subjective valuation. We examined the implications of a high sensitivity to gains or losses from two perspectives which we labeled scalar multiplication and valuation by feeling. Using two versions of the Iowa Gambling Task, we find evidence supporting the view that asymmetry in the systems regulating approach and avoidance leads to systematic biases that translate to differences in performance. Specifically, we find that high sensitivity in the Behavioral Activation System (BAS) translates to valuation by feeling and insensitivity to scope in the domain of gains, while high sensitivity in the Behavioral Inhibition System (BIS) translates to valuation by feeling and insensitivity to scope in the domain of losses. The basis for these findings is discussed. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Impact of conceptions of ability on self-regulatory mechanisms and complex decision making

Tested the hypothesis that induced conceptions of ability as a stable entity or as an acquirable skill would affect self-regulatory mechanisms governing performance in a simulated organization. Ss served as managerial decision makers in which they had to match employees to subfunctions and to discover and apply managerial rules to achieve a difficult level of organizational performance. Those who performed the challenging managerial task under an entity conception of ability suffered a loss in perceived self-efficacy, lowered their organizational goals, and became less efficient in their analytic strategies. Ss who managed the organization under an acquirable skill conception of ability sustained their perceived self-efficacy, set challenging organizational goals, and used analytic strategies effectively. These divergences in self-regulatory factors were accompanied by substantial differences in organizational performance. Path analysis revealed that perceived self-efficacy had both a direct effect on organizational performance and an indirect effect through its influence on analytic strategies. Personal goals also affected organizational performance through the mediation of analytic strategies. The relation of prior organizational performance to subsequent performance was mediated entirely by the combined influence of the self-regulatory factors.     

Quality of decision making and group norms.

Two studies investigated the impact of group norms for maintaining consensus versus norms for critical thought on group decisions in a modification of the biased sampling paradigm (G. Stasser & W. Titus, 1985). Both studies showed that critical norms improved the quality of decisions, whereas consensus norms did not. This effect appeared to be mediated by the perceived value of shared and unshared information: Consensus norm groups valued shared information more highly than critical groups did, and valence was a good predictor of decision outcome. In addition, the 2nd study showed that the group norm manipulation has no impact on individual decisions, consistent with the assumption that this is a group effect. Results suggest that the content of group norms is an important factor influencing the quality of group decision-making processes and that the content of group norms may be related to the group's proneness for groupthink.     

Intuitive decision making in complex situations: Somatic markers in an artificial grammar learning task

In this article, we explore the extent to which implicit learning is subtended by somatic markers, as evidenced by skin conductance measures. On each trial, subjects were asked to decide which “word” from a pair of “words” was the “correct” one. Unknown to the subjects, each “word” of a pair was constructed using a different set of rules (Grammar Aand Grammar B). A (monetary) reward was given if the subject chose the “word” from Grammar A. Choosing the Grammar B word resulted in (monetary) punishment. Skin conductance was measured during each of 100 trials. After each set of 10 trials, the subjects were asked how they selected the “correct word.” Task performance increased long before the subjects could even formulate a single relevant rule. In this preconceptual phase of the experiment, skin conductance was larger before incorrect than before correct choices. Thus, it was shown that artificial grammar learning is accompanied by a somatic marker, possibly “warning” the subject of the incorrect decision.     

Use of experts in complex decision making: A paradigm for the study of staff work

The paper presents a general experimental paradigm for the study of staff decision making based on the basic principles of social judgment theory. In an illustrative experiment, the paradigm is used to study one of the fundamental problems of staff decision making, that of judging what weight the inputs from different staff members should have in the final decision. The results suggest that judging these weights is a difficult task, even under the simplified conditions of the experiment.