Topic
Decision making research, explained
11 open-access decision making studies, each with a flashcard deck and a quiz.
- How We Learn Value While Making Quick Decisions
Decisions between high-value options are faster because people lower their threshold for making a choice, not because they process information faster.
- Eye-Tracking the Split-Second Dynamics of Risky Choices
When choosing between risky financial options, people rapidly integrate both odds and payouts using automatic cognitive processes rather than slow, deliberate calculations or oversimplified shortcut rules.
- Is our ability to judge our own minds general or task-specific?
An individual's ability to accurately evaluate their own performance is largely shared across different mental tasks, supporting a domain-general metacognitive ability.
- How difficulty processing emotions affects moral choices
People with trait alexithymia are more willing to support harmful actions for the greater good because they feel less empathic concern for the victim.
- How do emotions and bodily awareness affect impulsive choices?
While long-term personality traits predict distinct types of impulsive and risky choices, a person's current emotional state and awareness of their bodily signals do not.
- Does the Cognitive Reflection Test measure math or intuition?
The Cognitive Reflection Test predicts better decisions because it measures math skills, not because it measures the ability to override intuitive errors.
- Separating Habit from Value in the Iowa Gambling Task
A new math model shows that separating our habit of repeating past choices from our calculations of future rewards better explains human decision-making.
- Can algorithms replace human discussion in group decisions?
Simple decision-making algorithms cannot replace actual human interaction when group members have different levels of skill.
- How do learning speed and reward sensitivity affect gambling tasks?
People who perform poorly on gambling tests often simply learn at a slower rate or struggle to notice differences in reward sizes rather than having a fundamental decision-making impairment.
- How Do We Change Our Mind-Style to Make Faster Decisions?
People lower their decision standards as time passes within a choice, especially when they know some decisions might be impossibly difficult.
- Does guided reflection help medical students make better diagnoses?
Slowing down to reflect and list alternative possibilities does not help medical students arrive at a more accurate final diagnosis.