Advancing Research on Cognitive Processes in Social and Personality Psychology: A Hierarchical Drift Diffusion Model Primer. (May 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Johnson, David J.; Hopwood, Christopher J.; Cesario, Joseph; Pleskac, Timothy J.
• Is Part Of: Social psychological & personality science. Volume 8:Number 4(2017)
• Page Start: 413
• Page End: 423
• Publication Date: 2017-05
• Subjects: drift diffusion model -- process model -- first-person shooter task -- flash gambling task; Personality -- Periodicals; Social psychology -- Periodicals; Electronic journals; 155.2
• DOI: 10.1177/1948550617703174
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1948-5506

Abstract

We provide a primer on a hierarchical extension of the drift diffusion model (DDM). This formal model of decisions is frequently used in the cognitive sciences but infrequently used in social and personality research. Recent advances in model estimation have overcome issues that previously made the hierarchical DDM impractical to implement. Using examples from two paradigms, the first-person shooter task and the flash gambling task, we demonstrate that the hierarchical DDM can provide novel insights into cognitive processes underlying decisions. Finally, we compare the DDM to dual-process models of decision-making. We hope this primer will provide researchers a new tool for investigating psychological processes.