Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Reason and Intuition

Reason and Intuition

The human brain processes information for decision-making using one of two routes: an intuitive system and a rational system (Epstein, 1994; popularized by Kahneman, 2011 as System 1 and System 2, respectively). The intuitive system is quick, impulsive, and operates with minimal effort, relying on emotions or habits to provide cues for what to do next, while the rational system is logical, analytical, deliberate, and methodical. Research in neuropsychology suggests that the brain can only use...

Causes of Similarity-Dissimilarity Effect

Causes of Similarity-Dissimilarity Effect

The similarity-dissimilarity effect, a fundamental concept in social psychology, explains how interpersonal similarities and differences influence attraction and social interactions. This effect is supported by three key psychological perspectives: balance theory, social comparison theory, and consensual validation.Balance Theory and Cognitive ConsistencyBalance theory, developed by Fritz Heider, posits that individuals seek cognitive consistency in their relationships. When two people share...

Framing Effects

Framing Effects

Information is everywhere and its presentation—such as how and when items are presented—can impact our perceptions and decisions surrounding the info. This broad concept umbrellas framing effects—influences that occur due to the way information is framed in its appearance, whether it’s purely the order or the specific wording of a message. Let’s take a look at numerous ways in which two versions of something can objectively say the same thing, yet we respond in different ways based on the...

Group Design

Group Design

The most basic experimental design involves two groups: the experimental group and the control group. The two groups are designed to be the same except for one difference— experimental manipulation. The experimental group gets the experimental manipulation—that is, the treatment or variable being tested—and the control group does not. Since experimental manipulation is the only difference between the experimental and control groups, we can be sure that any differences between the two are due to...

Decision Making: P-value Method

Decision Making: P-value Method

The process of hypothesis testing based on the P-value method includes calculating the P- value using the sample data and interpreting it.
First, a specific claim about the population parameter is proposed. The claim is based on the research question and is stated in a simple form. Further, an opposing statement to the claim is also stated. These statements can act as null and alternative hypotheses: a null hypothesis would be a neutral statement while the alternative hypothesis can have a...

Cognitive Dissonance

Cognitive Dissonance

Social psychologists have documented that feeling good about ourselves and maintaining positive self-esteem is a powerful motivator of human behavior (Tavris & Aronson, 2008). In the United States, members of the predominant culture typically think very highly of themselves and view themselves as good people who are above average on many desirable traits (Ehrlinger, Gilovich, & Ross, 2005). Often, our behavior, attitudes, and beliefs are affected when we experience a threat to our...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Trapped by selective attention: The role of attentional processes in the emergence and prevention of learning traps.

Journal of experimental psychology. Learning, memory, and cognition·2025

Same author

Examining the Relationship Between Early Experience, Selective Attention, and the Formation of Learning Traps.

Cognitive science·2025

Same author

A timeline of cognitive costs in decision-making.

Trends in cognitive sciences·2025

Same author

On-task errors drive effort avoidance more than opportunity costs.

Journal of experimental psychology. General·2025

Same author

The impact of sampling bias on preferences for skewed distributions in decisions from experience.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2025

Same author

Emerging adaptivity in probability learning: How young minds and the environment interact.

Journal of experimental psychology. General·2025

Same journal

MRI correlates of emotion recognition in vascular dementia: An empty systematic review.

Acta psychologica·2026

Same journal

The core symptoms of elementary school students' fear of negative evaluation and its network relationship with self-confidence and family atmosphere.

Acta psychologica·2026

Same journal

Examining the moderating role of psychological hardiness in the relation between job demands and teachers' emotional exhaustion.

Acta psychologica·2026

Same journal

Counter-Empathy Scale: Adapting and developing psychometric properties in Northeast India.

Acta psychologica·2026

Same journal

When AI creates: Creative self-efficacy as a mediator in design professionals' adoption of AI image generators.

Acta psychologica·2026

Same journal

Effects of multimodal feedback on L2 English learners' lexical stress error correction: The role of learning style and feedback preference.

Acta psychologica·2026

See all related articles

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 5, 2026

The Joint Effect of Social Comparison and Social Distance on Evaluation of Intertemporal Choice Outcomes in Event-related Potential Studies

The Joint Effect of Social Comparison and Social Distance on Evaluation of Intertemporal Choice Outcomes in Event-related Potential Studies

Published on: August 25, 2023

Description- and experience-based choice: does equivalent information equal equivalent choice?

Adrian R Camilleri¹, Ben R Newell

¹School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney 2052, Australia. acamilleri@psy.unsw.edu.au

Acta Psychologica

|December 28, 2010

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

People make different choices when reading about options versus experiencing them. New methods reduced this description-experience gap, showing format, not just information, impacts decisions.

More Related Videos

A Psychophysics Paradigm for the Collection and Analysis of Similarity Judgments

A Psychophysics Paradigm for the Collection and Analysis of Similarity Judgments

Published on: March 1, 2022

Perceptual and Category Processing of the Uncanny Valley Hypothesis' Dimension of Human Likeness: Some Methodological Issues

Perceptual and Category Processing of the Uncanny Valley Hypothesis' Dimension of Human Likeness: Some Methodological Issues

Published on: June 3, 2013

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 5, 2026

The Joint Effect of Social Comparison and Social Distance on Evaluation of Intertemporal Choice Outcomes in Event-related Potential Studies

The Joint Effect of Social Comparison and Social Distance on Evaluation of Intertemporal Choice Outcomes in Event-related Potential Studies

Published on: August 25, 2023

A Psychophysics Paradigm for the Collection and Analysis of Similarity Judgments

A Psychophysics Paradigm for the Collection and Analysis of Similarity Judgments

Published on: March 1, 2022

Perceptual and Category Processing of the Uncanny Valley Hypothesis' Dimension of Human Likeness: Some Methodological Issues

Perceptual and Category Processing of the Uncanny Valley Hypothesis' Dimension of Human Likeness: Some Methodological Issues

Published on: June 3, 2013

Area of Science:

Decision-making research
Cognitive psychology
Behavioral economics

Background:

Decision-making often involves choices based on descriptions versus direct experience.
A significant 'description-experience gap' exists, where preferences differ markedly between these formats.
The underlying causes of this gap remain a subject of debate.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the impact of information acquisition methods on risky choices.
To rigorously control for biases in experiential decision-making.
To determine if the description-experience gap is primarily due to information equivalence.

Main Methods:

Utilized novel techniques to strictly control external and internal biases in information samples.
Conducted experiments comparing choices from descriptions versus decisions from experience.
Employed sequentially acquired, non-consequential samples for experiential conditions.

Main Results:

A significantly diminished description-experience gap was observed in both experiments.
Findings suggest the gap is largely attributable to non-equivalent information at the point of choice.
Controlled sampling reduced the divergence in preferences between described and experienced choices.

Conclusions:

The manner of information acquisition critically influences decision-making.
The description-experience gap may be substantially reduced by ensuring information equivalence.
Implications for computational and theoretical models of risky choice are significant.