Multialternative Decision Field Theory: A Dynamic Connectionist Model of Decision Making

The authors interpret decision field theory ( J. R. Busemeyer & J. T. Townsend, 1993 ) as a connectionist network and extend it to accommodate multialternative preferential choice situations. This article shows that the classic weighted additive utility model (see R. L. Keeney & H. Raiffa, 1...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Psychological review 2001-04, Vol.108 (2), p.370-392
Main Authors: Roe, Robert M, Busemeyer, Jerome R, Townsend, James T
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Artificial Intelligence
Biological and medical sciences
Choice Behavior
Cognition
Cognition. Intelligence
Decision making
Decision making models
Decision Making, Computer-Assisted
Decision making. Choice
Decision Theory
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Human behaviour
Humans
Mind
Neural Networks (Computer)
Psychology
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Theory
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Summary:The authors interpret decision field theory ( J. R. Busemeyer & J. T. Townsend, 1993 ) as a connectionist network and extend it to accommodate multialternative preferential choice situations. This article shows that the classic weighted additive utility model (see R. L. Keeney & H. Raiffa, 1976 ) and the classic Thurstone preferential choice model (see L. L. Thurstone, 1959 ) are special cases of this new multialternative decision field theory (MDFT), which also can emulate the search process of the popular elimination by aspects (EBA) model (see A. Tversky, 1969). The new theory is unique in its ability to explain several central empirical results found in the multialternative preference literature with a common set of principles. These empirical results include the similarity effect, the attraction effect, and the compromise effect, and the complex interactions among these three effects. The dynamic nature of the model also implies strong testable predictions concerning the moderating effect of time pressure on these three effects.
ISSN:0033-295X
1939-1471
DOI:10.1037/0033-295X.108.2.370