Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 20, 2025
13:04
Measuring the Subjective Value of Risky and Ambiguous Options using Experimental Economics and Functional MRI Methods
Published on: September 19, 2012
12.0K
Stability and robustness of idiosyncratic choice bias
Lior Lebovich1,2,3, Lea Kaplan4, David Hansel5
1The Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Brain Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel. lebovich.lior@gmail.com.
Communications Psychology
|May 16, 2025
Summary
Idiosyncratic choice bias (ICB) is stable over time, unlike feedback-induced bias, which is transient. These distinct dynamics suggest different underlying mechanisms for choice bias in experiments.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive psychology
- Decision-making research
- Behavioral neuroscience
Background:
- Choice bias, a preference for a specific response, is observed in repeated-choice experiments.
- This bias can be induced by biased feedback or arise intrinsically as idiosyncratic choice bias (ICB) even without feedback.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whether feedback-induced bias and idiosyncratic choice bias (ICB) share common underlying mechanisms.
- To determine if ICBs result from pre-existing choice-feedback associations.
Main Methods:
- Two longitudinal experiments were conducted with 319 participants.
- The long-term dynamics of ICBs were compared with feedback-induced biases.
Main Results:
- Feedback effectively induced choice preferences, but this effect was temporary, diminishing within weeks.
- In contrast, idiosyncratic choice biases (ICBs) demonstrated remarkable stability, persisting for at least 22 months.
Conclusions:
- The distinct temporal dynamics of feedback-induced bias and ICB indicate they are driven by separate mechanisms.
- ICBs are likely independent of transient feedback associations, suggesting a more stable, intrinsic origin.
Related Concept Videos
01:14Fundamental Attribution Error
12.8K
According to some social psychologists, people tend to overemphasize internal factors as explanations—or attributions—for the behavior of other people. They tend to assume that the behavior of another person is a trait of that person, and to underestimate the power of the situation on the behavior of others. They tend to fail to recognize when the behavior of another is due to situational variables, and thus to the person’s state. This erroneous assumption is...
12.8K
01:22Bias
3.7K
Bias refers to any tendency that prevents a question from being considered unprejudiced. In research, bias occurs when one outcome or answer is selected or encouraged over others in sampling or testing. Bias can occur during any research phase, including study design, data collection, analysis, and publication.
In statistics, a sampling bias is created when a sample is collected from a population, and some members of the population are not as likely to be chosen as others (remember, each member...
In statistics, a sampling bias is created when a sample is collected from a population, and some members of the population are not as likely to be chosen as others (remember, each member...
3.7K
01:12Hindsight Biases
3.4K
Hindsight bias leads you to believe that the event you just experienced was predictable, even though it really wasn’t. In other words, you knew all along that things would turn out the way they did. Can you relate this to the phrase "Hindsight is 20/20" now?
3.4K
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
01:52Regression Toward the Mean
6.3K
Regression toward the mean (“RTM”) is a phenomenon in which extremely high or low values—for example, and individual’s blood pressure at a particular moment—appear closer to a group’s average upon remeasuring. Although this statistical peculiarity is the result of random error and chance, it has been problematic across various medical, scientific, financial and psychological applications. In particular, RTM, if not taken into account, can interfere when...
6.3K
01:31Confirmation Biases
5.4K
The confirmation bias is the tendency to focus on information that confirms our existing beliefs and ignore information that is inconsistent with our expectations. For example, if you think that your professor is not very nice, you notice all of the instances of rude behavior exhibited by the professor while ignoring the countless pleasant interactions he is involved in on a daily basis. Have you ever fallen prey to the confirmation bias, either as the source or target of such bias?
5.4K