Inefficient prioritization of task-relevant attributes during instrumental information demand.

ABSTRACT: In natural settings, people evaluate complex multi-attribute situations and decide which attribute to request information about. Little is known about how people make this selection and specifically, how they identify individual observations that best predict the value of a multi-attribute situation. Here show that, in a simple task of information demand, participants inefficiently query attributes that have high individual value but are relatively uninformative about a total payoff. This inefficiency is robust in two instrumental conditions in which gathering less informative observations leads to significantly lower rewards. Across individuals, variations in the sensitivity to informativeness is associated with personality metrics, showing negative associations with extraversion and thri

SUBMITTER: Rischall I 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10235048 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature