Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 29, 2025
06:30
Spotlighting Customers' Visual Attention at the Stock, Shelf and Store Levels with the 3S Model
Published on: May 24, 2019
5.3K
Adapt/Exchange Decisions Depend on Structural and Surface Features: Effects of Solution Costs and Presentation Format
1Faculty of Psychology, Chair of Engineering Psychology and Applied Cognitive Research, TUD Dresden University of Technology, 01069 Dresden, Germany.
Behavioral Sciences (Basel, Switzerland)
|March 28, 2024
Summary
Decision-making in problem-solving depends on solution costs and information format. Graphs encourage adapting current solutions, while numbers promote comparing adaptation versus exchange options.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Decision Science
- Human-Computer Interaction
Background:
- Problem solvers frequently face choices between adapting existing solutions or adopting new ones.
- Prior research has not fully explored how task features influence these adapt-or-exchange decisions.
- Understanding decision strategies requires examining both structural and surface task characteristics.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the interaction between solution costs (structural) and information presentation format (surface) on adapt-or-exchange decisions.
- To test the hypothesis that graphical formats lead to satisficing, while numerical formats encourage ratio-based comparisons.
- To determine if these effects are moderated by the cost of adaptation.
Main Methods:
- Participants made adapt-or-exchange choices in a simulated modular plant scenario.
- Solution costs were presented using three formats: graphs, separate numbers, or integrated numbers.
- A second experiment validated findings with scaled numerical formats.
Main Results:
- Graphical information formats induced satisficing behavior (focusing only on adaptation).
- Numerical formats (separate or integrated) promoted a comparison between adaptation and exchange options.
- These effects were significant specifically when adaptation costs were moderate.
- Findings were replicated in a second experiment with adjusted numerical scales.
Conclusions:
- Adapt-or-exchange decisions are influenced by a complex interplay between structural task features and surface-level information presentation.
- Decision strategies in complex problem-solving are sensitive to how cost information is visually represented.
- This research offers deeper insights into balancing stability and flexibility in decision-making processes.
Keywords:
Adapt/Exchange decisionscostsdecision makingmodular plantspresentation formatsatisficingstructural and surface featuresMore Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
01:14Decision Making: Traditional Method
4.0K
The process of hypothesis testing based on the traditional method includes calculating the critical value, testing the value of the test statistic using the sample data, and interpreting these values.
First, a specific claim about the population parameter is decided based on the research question and is stated in a simple form. Further, an opposing statement to this claim is also stated. These statements can act as null and alternative hypotheses, out of which a null hypothesis would be a...
First, a specific claim about the population parameter is decided based on the research question and is stated in a simple form. Further, an opposing statement to this claim is also stated. These statements can act as null and alternative hypotheses, out of which a null hypothesis would be a...
4.0K
01:20Decision Making
109
Decision-making is a fundamental cognitive process that involves evaluating alternatives and selecting among them. This process can range from simple choices, such as deciding what to wear, to complex decisions, like choosing a major in college or a career path. The complexity of the decision often dictates the approach we use, which can be broadly categorized into two types: automatic and controlled decision-making.
Automatic decision-making is fast, intuitive, and relies on gut feelings...
Automatic decision-making is fast, intuitive, and relies on gut feelings...
109
03:26Framing Effects
7.4K
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...
7.4K
01:25The Anchoring-and-Adjustment Heuristic
7.2K
In order to make good decisions, we use our knowledge and our reasoning. Often, this knowledge and reasoning is sound and solid. However, sometimes, we are swayed by biases or by others manipulating a situation. For example, let’s say you and three friends wanted to rent a house and had a combined target budget of $1,600. The realtor shows you only very run-down houses for $1,600 and then shows you a very nice house for $2,000. Might you ask each person to pay more in rent to get the...
7.2K
02:20Routes of Persuasion
64.1K
Persuasion is the process of changing our attitude toward something based on some kind of communication. Much of the persuasion we experience comes from outside forces. How do people convince others to change their attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors? What communications do you receive that attempt to persuade you to change your attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors?
64.1K
01:15Subliminal Perception
258
Subliminal perception refers to the processing of sensory information that occurs below the level of conscious awareness. Researchers study subliminal perception by presenting a stimulus, such as a word or image, very quickly, typically around 50 milliseconds. This rapid presentation is often followed by another stimulus, such as a pattern of dots or lines, which blocks further mental processing of the initial stimulus. As a result, if participants cannot identify the initial stimulus better...
258