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| Research article summary (published 29 Apr 2003): |
Rethinking the focusing effect in decision-making.
Full Abstract
According to Legrenzi et al. [Cognition 49 (1993) 37], in making a choice people consider only the alternatives explicitly represented in their mental model of the decision situation. Their idea has found empirical support in the "focusing effect":
Individuals focus on the alternatives explicitly stated in the problem context, and do not take into account other possibilities. In their original study, Legrenzi and colleagues considered only one factor to account for the explicit representation of an alternative--i.e., its explicit verbal formulation in the decision problem. Recent theories of relevance and information gain can help articulate their original idea, suggesting that individuals explicitly represent relevant alternatives, whether or not they are explicitly formulated in the decision problem. In three experiments we first replicated Legrenzi et al.'s original experiment, and then showed that the explicit verbal mention of an alternative is neither sufficient nor necessary to focus on it. The results suggest that individuals are able to consider relevant alternatives, even when they are not made explicit in the verbal formulation of a decision problem.Copyright 2003 Elsevier Science B.V.
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Author information
Author/s: Cherubini, Paolo (P); Mazzocco, Ketti (K); Rumiati, Rino (R);
Affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Milano, Bicocca, Piazza Ateneo Nuovo 1, 20126 Milano, Italy. paolo.cherubini@unimib.it
Journal and publication information
Publication Type: Journal Article
Journal: Acta psychologica (Acta Psychol (Amst)), published in Netherlands. (Language: eng)
Reference: 2003-May; vol 113 (issue 1) : pp 67-81
Dates: Created 2003/04/07; Completed 2003/05/23; Revised 2004/11/17;
PMID: 12679044, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 11/6/2008)
Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.
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