The Effect of Decision Task Characteristics on Decision Behavior.

Abstract

Three experiments were conducted to examine the contributions of various aspects of decision tasks to people's selection of strategies for making the required decisions. The variables of interest were derived from a recently published contingency model for decision strategy selection. The first experiment was essentially a pilot study and established that it was possible to do profitable research in the area. The second experiment yielded the relative contributions of the independent variables to strategy selection. The independent variables were unfamiliarity and complexity of the decision problem, irreversibility and significance of the decision, and accountability of the decision maker. The results supported the viability of the model. The third experiment showed that decision makers' perceptions of the relative contributions of the variables of interest are roughly congruent with the empirical relative contributions obtained in the second experiment. (Author)