Information search processing affects social decisions

• Published in: Journal of behavioral decision making 2023-12, Vol.36 (5)
• Main Authors: Wei, Zi‐Han, Liang, Yan, Liang, Ci‐Juan, Liu, Hong‐Zhi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Alternatives; Attributes; Decision making; Equality; Information processing; Money
• ISSN: 0894-3257; 1099-0771
• DOI: 10.1002/bdm.2352

Social decisions often require individuals to balance conflicts between their own selfish interests and the need for equality. The way information about available options is presented can have an impact on how people process information and make social decisions. In this study, we examined the effect of information presentation on social decisions in a mini‐dictator game, where participants must make binary choices about how to allocate money between themselves and another participant. We conducted two tasks with different presentation styles: the attribute‐based task, where attributes such as own payoffs or others' payoffs were displayed sequentially, and the alternative‐based task, where alternatives were displayed sequentially. We found that participants in the attribute‐based task made more selfish choices and were less sensitive to equality than those in the alternative‐based task. The direction of information search and the complexity level of information processing played a mediating role in the effect of task on social decisions. Our findings highlight the relationship between information search and social decisions, shedding light on the mechanisms and processes that underlie social decision‐making.