TY - JOUR
T1 - The availability of non-instrumental information increases risky decision-making
AU - Matthews, Julian R.
AU - Cooper, Patrick S.
AU - Bode, Stefan
AU - Chong, Trevor T.J.
N1 - Funding Information:
We thank Matthew Jiwa and Ariel Goh for helpful discussions. We also wish to acknowledge the detailed and constructive comments from the action editor and two anonymous reviewers, which collectively improved the quality of this manuscript. This work was supported by an Australian Research Council (ARC) Future Fellowship (FT220100294) to T.C., an ARC Discovery Project (DP180102383) to T.C. and S.B., and an Office of Naval Research (Global) grant to T.C. P.C. was supported by funding from the ARC Discovery Project and the Office of Naval Research (Global) grant.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023, The Author(s).
PY - 2023/10
Y1 - 2023/10
N2 - Contemporary models of decision-making under risk focus on estimating the final value of each alternative course of action. According to such frameworks, information that has no capacity to alter a future payoff (i.e., is “non-instrumental”) should have little effect on one’s preference for risk. Importantly, however, recent work has shown that information, despite being non-instrumental, may nevertheless exert a striking influence on behavior. Here, we tested whether the opportunity to passively observe the sequence of events following a decision could modulate risky behavior, even if that information could not possibly influence the final result. Across three experiments, 71 individuals chose to accept or reject gambles on a five-window slot machine. If a gamble was accepted, each window was sequentially revealed prior to the outcome being declared. Critically, we informed participants about which windows would subsequently provide veridical information about the gamble outcome, should that gamble be accepted. Our analyses revealed three key findings. First, the opportunity to observe the consequences of one’s choice significantly increased the likelihood of gambling, despite that information being entirely non-instrumental. Second, this effect generalized across different stakes. Finally, choices were driven predominantly by the likelihood that information could result in an earlier resolution of uncertainty. These findings demonstrate the importance of anticipatory information to decision-making under risk. More broadly, we provide strong evidence for the utility of non-instrumental information, by demonstrating its capacity to modulate primary economic decisions that should be driven by more motivationally salient variables associated with risk and reward.
AB - Contemporary models of decision-making under risk focus on estimating the final value of each alternative course of action. According to such frameworks, information that has no capacity to alter a future payoff (i.e., is “non-instrumental”) should have little effect on one’s preference for risk. Importantly, however, recent work has shown that information, despite being non-instrumental, may nevertheless exert a striking influence on behavior. Here, we tested whether the opportunity to passively observe the sequence of events following a decision could modulate risky behavior, even if that information could not possibly influence the final result. Across three experiments, 71 individuals chose to accept or reject gambles on a five-window slot machine. If a gamble was accepted, each window was sequentially revealed prior to the outcome being declared. Critically, we informed participants about which windows would subsequently provide veridical information about the gamble outcome, should that gamble be accepted. Our analyses revealed three key findings. First, the opportunity to observe the consequences of one’s choice significantly increased the likelihood of gambling, despite that information being entirely non-instrumental. Second, this effect generalized across different stakes. Finally, choices were driven predominantly by the likelihood that information could result in an earlier resolution of uncertainty. These findings demonstrate the importance of anticipatory information to decision-making under risk. More broadly, we provide strong evidence for the utility of non-instrumental information, by demonstrating its capacity to modulate primary economic decisions that should be driven by more motivationally salient variables associated with risk and reward.
KW - Decision-making
KW - Information
KW - Reward
KW - Risk
KW - Uncertainty
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85152266601&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3758/s13423-023-02279-1
DO - 10.3758/s13423-023-02279-1
M3 - Article
C2 - 37038030
AN - SCOPUS:85152266601
SN - 1069-9384
VL - 30
SP - 1975
EP - 1987
JO - Psychonomic Bulletin and Review
JF - Psychonomic Bulletin and Review
IS - 5
ER -