Adapt or Exchange: Making changes within or between contexts in a modular plant scenario
Most psychological studies investigating the balance between stability and flexibility in decision making use specific restrictions in their scenarios. These restrictions are likely to affect decision process, and it is unclear which of the findings can be transferred to more naturalistic decision...
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University Library Heidelberg
2020-12-01
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| Series: | Journal of Dynamic Decision Making |
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| Online Access: | https://journals.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/index.php/jddm/article/view/69326 |
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| author | Romy Müller Leon Urbas |
| author_facet | Romy Müller Leon Urbas |
| author_sort | Romy Müller |
| collection | DOAJ |
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Most psychological studies investigating the balance between stability and flexibility in decision making use specific restrictions in their scenarios. These restrictions are likely to affect decision process, and it is unclear which of the findings can be transferred to more naturalistic decision contexts that call for a balance between stability and flexibility. Therefore, the present study used a scenario that is inspired by the problem structure found in a particular domain: Adapt/Exchange decisions in modular chemical plants. In this setting, we investigated whether participants engage in a thorough comparison of options and whether they perseverate on their previous choices when decision sequences increasingly favour one or the other option. The results suggest that instead of comparing options, participants used a satisficing strategy, checking whether Adapt was good enough and only computing an Exchange solution when it was not. Sequence effects were found, but their direction was opposite to the choice perseveration predicted from the literature: In sequences initially favouring Adapt, participants started exploring the Exchange option early on, while in sequences initially demanding Exchange, they preferred Adapt as soon as it became possible. The results raise questions about the application of psychological theories to complex decisions between qualitatively different options.
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| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-3502b3a50a6342d2aa9f2c088e0a8717 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2365-8037 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2020-12-01 |
| publisher | University Library Heidelberg |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Dynamic Decision Making |
| spelling | doaj-art-3502b3a50a6342d2aa9f2c088e0a87172025-08-22T09:13:58ZengUniversity Library HeidelbergJournal of Dynamic Decision Making2365-80372020-12-016110.11588/jddm.2020.1.69326Adapt or Exchange: Making changes within or between contexts in a modular plant scenarioRomy Müller0Leon UrbasTechnische Universität Dresden, Chair of Engineering Psychology and Applied Cognitive Research, Helmholtzstraße 10, 01069 Dresden, Germany Most psychological studies investigating the balance between stability and flexibility in decision making use specific restrictions in their scenarios. These restrictions are likely to affect decision process, and it is unclear which of the findings can be transferred to more naturalistic decision contexts that call for a balance between stability and flexibility. Therefore, the present study used a scenario that is inspired by the problem structure found in a particular domain: Adapt/Exchange decisions in modular chemical plants. In this setting, we investigated whether participants engage in a thorough comparison of options and whether they perseverate on their previous choices when decision sequences increasingly favour one or the other option. The results suggest that instead of comparing options, participants used a satisficing strategy, checking whether Adapt was good enough and only computing an Exchange solution when it was not. Sequence effects were found, but their direction was opposite to the choice perseveration predicted from the literature: In sequences initially favouring Adapt, participants started exploring the Exchange option early on, while in sequences initially demanding Exchange, they preferred Adapt as soon as it became possible. The results raise questions about the application of psychological theories to complex decisions between qualitatively different options. https://journals.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/index.php/jddm/article/view/69326decision makinggoal conflictsstability/flexibility balanceheuristicssequence effectsmodular plants |
| spellingShingle | Romy Müller Leon Urbas Adapt or Exchange: Making changes within or between contexts in a modular plant scenario Journal of Dynamic Decision Making decision making goal conflicts stability/flexibility balance heuristics sequence effects modular plants |
| title | Adapt or Exchange: Making changes within or between contexts in a modular plant scenario |
| title_full | Adapt or Exchange: Making changes within or between contexts in a modular plant scenario |
| title_fullStr | Adapt or Exchange: Making changes within or between contexts in a modular plant scenario |
| title_full_unstemmed | Adapt or Exchange: Making changes within or between contexts in a modular plant scenario |
| title_short | Adapt or Exchange: Making changes within or between contexts in a modular plant scenario |
| title_sort | adapt or exchange making changes within or between contexts in a modular plant scenario |
| topic | decision making goal conflicts stability/flexibility balance heuristics sequence effects modular plants |
| url | https://journals.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/index.php/jddm/article/view/69326 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT romymuller adaptorexchangemakingchangeswithinorbetweencontextsinamodularplantscenario AT leonurbas adaptorexchangemakingchangeswithinorbetweencontextsinamodularplantscenario |