Memory and decision making interact to shape the value of unchosen options.
other · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 34330909.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-021-24907-x and PMC identifier 8324852.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
The goal of deliberation is to separate between options so that we can commit to one and leave the other behind. However, deliberation can, paradoxically, also form an association in memory between the chosen and unchosen options. Here, we consider this possibility and examine its consequences for how outcomes affect not only the value of the options we chose, but also, by association, the value of options we did not choose. In five experiments (total n = 612), including a preregistered experiment (n = 235), we found that the value assigned to unchosen options is inversely related to their chosen counterparts. Moreover, this inverse relationship was associated with participants' memory of the pairs they chose between. Our findings suggest that deciding between options does not end the competition between them. Deliberation binds choice options together in memory such that the learned value of one can affect the inferred value of the other.
Medical subject headings
- Algorithms
- Choice Behavior
- Decision Making
- Memory
- Models, Theoretical