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Attribute preference and selection in multi-attribute decision making: implications for unconscious and conscious

Narayanan Srinivasan¹, Sumitava Mukherjee

¹Centre of Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences, University of Allahabad, Allahabad 211002, India. nsrini@cbcs.ac.in

Consciousness and Cognition

|March 30, 2010

Summary

Unconscious thought theory (UTT) may not require processing all information. Computer simulations suggest a small subset of attributes suffices for optimal decisions, challenging UTT

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Area of Science:

Cognitive Psychology
Decision Science

Background:

Unconscious Thought Theory (UTT) posits optimal information processing for complex decisions.
Limited empirical evidence exists on the extent of information processed during unconscious thought.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the amount of information processed during unconscious thought.
To explore attribute selection and combination mechanisms in unconscious decision-making.

Main Methods:

Computer simulations were conducted using datasets from prior research on unconscious thought.
The simulations tested the impact of considering varying subsets of attributes on decision outcomes.

Main Results:

Considering a small subset of attributes (3-4) produced results comparable to previous studies.
The findings indicate that unconscious thought does not necessitate processing all available information.
Attribute weighting appears to play a role in attribute selection during unconscious thought.

Conclusions:

The capacity of unconscious thought is likely limited, not infinite.
Attribute selection mechanisms may explain challenges in replicating the deliberation-without-attention effect.
This research refines our understanding of information processing in unconscious decision-making.