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Value-Focused Thinking versus Alternative-Focused Thinking: Effects on Generation of Objectives
León1
1Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes
|December 2, 1999
Summary
Value-focused thinking (VFT) creates more comprehensive objective structures than alternative-focused thinking (AFT). VFT-generated objectives were found to be superior in decision analysis quality assessments.
Area of Science:
- Decision Analysis
- Cognitive Psychology
Background:
- Decision analysis often involves structuring objectives to guide choices.
- Value-focused thinking (VFT) and alternative-focused thinking (AFT) are two distinct approaches to objective structuring.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the structural differences and qualities of objectives generated by VFT versus AFT.
- To determine if VFT yields a more effective objective structure in decision analysis.
Main Methods:
- Two studies were conducted comparing VFT and AFT.
- Study 1: Subjects generated objective structures for a decision problem using either VFT or AFT.
- Study 2: Decision-makers evaluated VFT and AFT objective structures on various quality metrics.
Main Results:
- VFT generated more extensive and hierarchical objective structures compared to AFT.
- VFT structures encompassed a broader range of problem aspects than AFT structures.
- Decision-makers rated VFT structures as equal or superior to AFT structures across all evaluated qualities.
Conclusions:
- Value-focused thinking provides a more robust framework for objective structuring in decision analysis.
- VFT leads to more comprehensive and highly-regarded objective structures than AFT.