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Psychological determinants of decision attitude
Author(s) -
Beattie Jane,
Baron Jonathan,
Hershey John C.,
Spranca Mark D.
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
journal of behavioral decision making
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.136
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1099-0771
pISSN - 0894-3257
DOI - 10.1002/bdm.3960070206
Subject(s) - regret , decision fatigue , blame , psychology , risk aversion (psychology) , evidential decision theory , decision analysis , decision field theory , loss aversion , social psychology , optimal decision , economics , expected utility hypothesis , business decision mapping , microeconomics , evidential reasoning approach , r cast , computer science , decision tree , financial economics , mathematical economics , machine learning , artificial intelligence
Decision attitude — an analog of risk attitude — is the propensity to make (or avoid making) a decision: in decision aversion, a person finds it more desirable to receive through fiat the better of two options than to have a choice between them; in decision seeking, the choice is more desirable, even though it can lead to nothing better than the best option. Both decision aversion and decision seeking were found in hypothetical scenarios. Experimental manipulations and subjects' justifications point to anticipated regret, fear of blame for poor outcomes, and desire for equitable distributions as sources of decision aversion. One source of decision seeking (for self) and decision aversion (when deciding for others) appears to be the desire for the self‐determination of the affected parties. We consider the implications of our results for personal choice and public policy decisions.