Collaborative Research: Individual Differences in Decision-Making Competence

每天，人们面临着各种各样的决定，从选择洗发水、股票、医疗和朋友。当人们还没有通过试错学会该做什么时，他们需要一种做出有效决策的一般能力。随之而来的技能包括从世界中提取相关信息，在特定设置中应用一般值，以及将这些部分与连贯的决策规则集成。研究经常发现这些技能的不足。虽然对一般认知过程的兴趣转移了人们对个体差异的关注，但人们在这些技能上确实存在很大差异。Parker和Fischhoff（2002）使用这种绩效可变性来开发决策能力（DMC）的测量方法。在一项正在进行的纵向研究中，调查对象被要求完成涉及上述技能的七项任务。七个DMC任务的绩效呈正相关，表明存在共同的核心能力。单个DMC分数与智力、认知方式、风险行为和社会/家庭影响的测量结果密切相关。尽管CEDAR研究证明了DMC的潜力，但它受到一些仪器和所用样品的特殊性质的问题的限制。目前的研究包括四项研究，将进一步完善七个DMC任务。每个研究都根据最近的理论发展和提高整体规模属性来解决个人决策技能。此外，这些研究为解决个别任务领域内的科学问题提供了机会。将实验室结果与“真实世界”的行为联系起来本身就是一项尚未被广泛追求的实践。它提供了一个机会来澄清决策研究结果的有效性，以及阐明潜在的理论。这项工作适用于培训个人做出更好的决定、做出法律和医疗决定的能力，以及在竞争环境中的相对表现。

Every day, people face decisions in domains as diverse as the choice of shampoos, stocks, medical treatments, and friends. When people have not learned what to do through trial and error, they need a general ability to make effective decisions. The attendant skills include extracting relevant information from the world, applying general values in specific settings, and integrating these pieces with a coherent decision rule. Research has often found deficiencies in such skills. While interest in general cognitive processes has diverted attention from individual differences, people do differ substantially in these skills.Parker and Fischhoff (2002) used this performance variability to develop a measure of decision-making competence (DMC). Seven tasks, tapping into the above skills, were administered to respondents from an ongoing longitudinal study. Performance correlated positively across the seven DMC tasks, suggesting a common central competency. A single DMC score correlated strongly with measures of intelligence, cognitive style, risk behavior, and social/family influences. Although the CEDAR study demonstrates the potential of DMC, it is limited by problems with some of the instruments and special properties of the sample used. The current research includes four studies that will further refine the seven DMC tasks. Each study addresses individual decision-making skills in light of recent theoretical developments and improving overall scale properties. In addition, these studies provide opportunities for addressing scientific questions within the individual task domains.This connection of laboratory results with "real world" behavior is an exercise itself that has not been widely pursued. It provides the opportunity to clarify the validity of decision-making research findings, as well as shed light on the underlying theory. This work has applications to the training of individuals to make better decisions, competence in making legal and medical decisions, as well as relative performance in competitive environments.