Irrational decision making, specifically preference reversals, have received a significant amount of attention from decision researchers. Though considered a universal phenomenon, not everyone displays the same proportion of the main three types of preference reversals. This may be because the attribute values are not created sensitive to individuals’ preferences, or due to individual differences in making different types of “irrational” choices. Thus, for the current experiment, stimuli will be created specific to each participant’s preferences and multiple individual difference measures will be administered to identify clusters of participants who make similar patterns of choices. Computational modeling will be used after data collection to test whether these choice clusters map onto parameter clusters indicating that each cluster of participants used a similar interacting mix of cognitive processes. I expect to find at least three distinct clusters who share similar parameter values indicating that participants are using a similar mix of cognitive processes as other people in their cluster. Practical implications of this study include critical information for policy making, product marketing, and individualized intervention design in a clinical setting. This study also offers an opportunity to apply high-level statistical modeling in understanding decision strategies and theoretical psychology in business analytics.
Author: Chi Vo
Advisor: Joseph Johnson, Psychology
Graduate Advisor: Elizabeth Pettit, Psychology
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