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Ambiguity seeking in multi‐attribute decisions: Effects of optimism and message framing
Author(s) -
Bier Vicki M.,
Connell Brad L.
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.3960070303
Subject(s) - ambiguity , optimism , psychology , social psychology , mood , framing (construction) , framing effect , anxiety , trait , ambiguity tolerance , cognitive psychology , cognition , preference , personality , computer science , statistics , persuasion , mathematics , structural engineering , neuroscience , psychiatry , engineering , programming language
This paper investigates the influence of message framing and personality variables on preferences over ambiguity in the context of multi‐attribute decision scenarios. Undergraduate subjects responded to scenarios in which one of two medical treatments was associated with ambiguous probabilities of treatment effects. Probabilities were either positively or negatively framed. Subjects indicated their degree of preference for one treatment over the other. Subjects' optimism, trait anxiety, health locus of control, need for cognitive structure, and current mood were measured. In two separate studies, subjects preferred ambiguity when probabilities were positively framed, and were neutral toward ambiguity when probabilities were negatively framed. Also, in both studies the preference for ambiguity in positively framed scenarios was greater for more optimistic subjects. The unexpected finding of ambiguity seeking may be associated with the use of different decision strategies in multi‐attribute versus single‐attribute decisions.