Thinking and Decision-making

Question 1

Normative model

Answer 1

Assumes that unlimited time and resources are available to make a decision
Describes the way thinking should be
Determines what is right and wrong, correct and incorrect, effective and ineffective
- Doesn’t take into account feelings or intuition

Theory of of probability and utility theory

Question 2

Theory of probability

Answer 2

• escalation of commitment (bias that causes people to keep investing in a decision even when its failing)
• when we make investment decisions we might go with our intuition but the ‘normative’ thing to do is to analyze the success or failure frequencies

Question 3

Utility theory

Answer 3

• normative model for decisions involving uncertainty and trade-offs between alternatives
• the decision maker should calculate the expected utility (the degree to which it helps us achieve our goals) for each option and then choose the option that maximizes this utility

Question 4

Descriptive model

Answer 4

Focuses on accurate description of real-life thinking patterns and the main measure of effectiveness for such models is how closely the models they observed the data from various samples of participants

• Theory of Reasoned Action and Planned Behaviour, Adaptive Decision Making Framework

Question 5

Theory of Reasoned Action and Planned Behaviour

Answer 5

Martin Fishbein(1967)
- aims to explain the relationship between attitudes and behaviours when making choices
- behavioural intention - a predisposition based on attitudes and subjective norms
- perceived behavioural control (added in 1985)

Attitude - individual perception of whether it is a positive or negative behaviour
Subjective norm - whether the behaviour is socially acceptable or not
Perceived behaviour control - to account
for situations in which the attitude is positive, and the subjective norms do not prevent you from performing the behaviour; however, you do not think you are able to carry out the action.

Question 6

Albarracin et al (2001)

Answer 6

Aim:
To investigate predictive validity of the theory of planned behaviour for people’s decisions to use or not to use condoms (this is essential to enhance prevention of sexually transmitted diseases).

Method: A meta-analysis.
Participants: 42 published and unpublished research papers with a total of 96 data sets.

Procedure
All data sets from published research were combined in a single large data matrix, which was then used to analyse the fitt of the model of planned behaviour.

Results
* TPB turned out to be a successful predictor of condom use. The correlation between intention and behaviour in
this model was 0.51.
* There were significant correlations between behavioural intentions (on the one hand) and norms, attitudes and perceived control (on the other hand).

Conclusion
It was concluded that people are more likely to use condoms when they have formed an intention to do so. In their turn, these intentions are based on attitudes, subjective norms and perceived behavioural control. On a broader scale, the study also confirms predictive validity of the TPB in the specific
domain of condom use.

Strengths
Provides a comprehensive review of factors influencing attitude-behavior consistency.
Helps refine models of behavior prediction, especially in health psychology.

Limitations
The findings are correlational and do not establish causal relationships.
The studies included in the meta-analysis may not fully account for individual differences.

Question 7

Ajzen and Fishbein (1973)

Answer 7

Aim:
To investigate the factors that influence behavior by examining the relationship between attitudes, subjective norms, and intentions.

Procedure:
Ajzen and Fishbein reviewed existing research on attitude-behavior relationships, and they developed a model that includes two key components:
Attitude: The individual’s positive or negative evaluation of performing the behavior.
Subjective norm: The perceived social pressure to perform or not perform the behavior.

Results:
They found that intentions were the best predictor of actual behavior, with both attitude and subjective norms playing significant roles. The more favorable the attitude toward a behavior and the stronger the perceived social pressure, the more likely a person would perform the behavior.

Strengths:
Provides a clear framework for understanding the factors influencing behavior.
Supports the idea that behavior can be predicted by attitudes and social influences.

Limitations:
Focuses on deliberate, rational decision-making and doesn’t account for automatic or unconscious behaviors.
Limited by the fact that intentions do not always lead to behavior due to external constraints or unforeseen factors.

Evaluation:
The Theory of Reasoned Action has been influential in psychology, especially in health psychology and behavior change interventions. However, it is often criticized for oversimplifying behavior and not accounting for spontaneous actions.

Question 8

Adaptive Decision Making Framework

Answer 8

Payne, Bettman, and Johnson (1993)
- includes emotions in the process of decision making
- people don’t always make rational choices, they can make choices based on cost, or effort involved in the decision (may opt easier vs best decision)

1) Weighted Additive Strategy (WADD) - calculating the “utility” of a choice
2) Lexicographic Strategy (LEX) - choose the most important attribute and then the option that has the best value for that attribute
3) Satisficing strategy (SAT) - determine a specific cut-off point for every attribute
4) Elimination by aspects (EBA) Choose the most important attribute and eliminate all the options that do not meet your requirements for this attribute.

Goals that guide strategy selection:
- maximising decision accuracy
- minimizing the cognitive effort
- minimizing the experience of negative emotion
- maximizing the ease of justification of a decision