The influence of decision aids on choice strategies underconditions of high cognitive load
Todd, P.A.; Benbasat, I.
Systems, Man and Cybernetics, IEEE Transactions on
Volume 24, Issue 4, Apr 1994 Page(s):537 - 547
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/21.286376
Summary:Concerns the role of effort and accuracy in choice tasks. The
paper examines the role of computer-based decision aids in reducing
cognitive effort where the decision maker experiences heavy information
load. It is argued that specific features can be incorporated within a
set of aids that alter the effort required to implement a particular
strategy relative to other strategies, and that this influences strategy
selection. Subjects were given aids to reduce cognitive effort
associated with preferential choice strategies. In particular, the aids
provided varying levels of support for the processing associated with
either elimination by aspects (EBA) or additive difference (AD)
strategies. The study examined changes in operators which represent the
subcomponents or building blocks of the strategies. A repeated measures
design was utilized whereby 32 subjects performed a 30 alternative
apartment selection task over two trials. Analysis of the data was based
on the coding of concurrent verbal protocols which described the
subjects' problem solving strategies. The results show that aids which
reduce the effort associated with the EBA strategy induce behaviors
associated with EBA. More importantly, there was an interaction effect
caused by the behavior of subjects provided with support for an AD but
not for an elimination by aspects strategy. These subjects employed more
operations which are unique to the AD strategy. These results are
consistent with earlier studies in indicating that decision makers adapt
to the aids available to them so as to maintain low overall levels of
effort expenditure. They further indicate that aids can be designed to
overcome constraining task limitations
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