Paying a price for information: Non-optimal decision making and preference for information over expected value outcomes. (November 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Wickens, Christopher D.; Smith, Charles; Clegg, Benjamin; Herdener, Nathan
• Is Part Of: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society ... Annual Meeting. Volume 63:Part 1(2019)
• Page Start: 1394
• Page End: 1398
• Publication Date: 2019-11
• Subjects: Human engineering -- Congresses; 620.8205
• DOI: 10.1177/1071181319631190
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1541-9312

Abstract

The information purchase bias describes a tendency to opt for information that reduces uncertainty, even when the cost of information is associated with a substantial net reduction in expected value. The current experiment quantified the amount of information that could be purchased in terms of increased certainty of finding a target (a downed aircraft) by purchasing a more expensive, but more powerful sensor. In a "good deal" block, the expected financial gain of finding the target with the upgraded purchase clearly exceeded the cost of the purchase. In a neutral deal block the two terms were equal and in the bad deal block the purchase cost far exceeded the expected gain. The neutral deal was purchased 65% of the time (15% bias); and the bad deal purchased 50% of the time, where the optimal strategy would have been to never purchase. Implications for automation and training are discussed.