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Serial-position effects in preference construction: a sensitivity analysis of the pairwise-competition model
Emina Canic1, Thorsten Pachur2
1Max Planck Institute for Human Development Berlin, Germany ; Department of Psychology, University of Warwick Coventry, UK.
Frontiers in Psychology
|September 10, 2014
Summary
This study models how people choose options, finding that option quality variability boosts early choices (primacy effects) and reduces later ones (recency effects). Choice inertia also impacts these effects, especially in shorter sequences.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Decision Making
- Computational Social Science
Background:
- Individuals exhibit primacy and recency effects, preferring options at the beginning or end of a sequence.
- The pairwise-competition model offers a framework for understanding sequential updating mechanisms in choice behavior.
Purpose of the Study:
- To formally instantiate the pairwise-competition model for sequential choice.
- To investigate how option quality variability, sequence length, and choice inertia influence primacy and recency effects.
Main Methods:
- Development of a formal computational model based on pairwise competition.
- Computer simulations to analyze the impact of key parameters on choice effects.
- Examination of factors including quality variability, sequence length, and choice inertia (static and dynamic).
Main Results:
- Increased quality variability enhances primacy effects and diminishes recency effects, irrespective of sequence length.
- Significant primacy effects emerge with shorter sequences or higher choice inertia.
- Dynamic choice inertia amplifies primacy effects and reduces recency effects, with impact scaling with inertia level.
Conclusions:
- The formalized pairwise-competition model successfully predicts and explains the dynamics of primacy and recency effects.
- Option quality variability and choice inertia are critical determinants of sequential choice patterns.
- The model generates novel, testable predictions for future empirical research on decision-making.
Keywords:
inertiapreference constructionprimacy and recency effectssequential evaluationserial-position effectsMore Related Videos
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