Academics Undergraduate Programs Minor in Public Policy & Leadership Mar 24, 2013 By Eileen ChouNir Halevy How Decisions Happen: Focal Points and Blind Spots in Interdependent Decision Making Decision makers often simplify decision problems by ignoring readily available information. The current multimethod research investigated which types of information about interdependence situations are psychologically prominent to decision makers and which tend to go unnoticed. Study 1 used eye-tracking measures to investigate how decision makers allocate their attention in interdependence situations and revealed that individuals fixated on mutual cooperation earlier and longer as compared with alternative combinations of strategies and outcomes. In addition, participants’ behavioral cooperation was consistent with their attention allocation. Study 2 introduced a novel information-search paradigm: Participants exchanged yes/no questions and answers to discover which of 25 different games their counterpart chose. Analyzing the contents of participants’ questions showed that, consistent with Study 1, participants focused primarily on desirable outcomes and symmetric behavioral choices. Study 3 revealed that outcome desirability is a robust basis of psychological prominence across different types of social relations; in contrast, the psychological prominence of symmetry was moderated by the nature of social relations. Study 4 revealed that whether different bases of psychological prominence directed individuals’ attention to the same aspects of the decision-making task moderated the effect of information availability on decision latency and cooperation rates. Taken together, these findings contribute to the mapping of bounded rationality, demonstrate how people think about their interdependence, and enhance our understanding of how decisions happen. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology Journal of Personality and Social Psychology Eileen Chou Eileen Chou, associate dean for academic affairs and Batten Family Bicentennial Teacher-Scholar Leadership Professor of Public Policy at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy, researches the organizational, social, and psychological forces that shape individual and group behavior in organizational settings. Read full bio Nir Halevy Related Content Eileen Chou Once bitten, twice shy: The negative spillover effect of seeing betrayal of trust. Research Our research demonstrates that people who had perceived a recent betrayal were significantly less likely to trust a new entity that shared nominal group membership with the previous trust transgressor. By systematically investigating whether, why, and to what extent betrayal spillover can subsequently contaminate trust development, we present a robust account of the downstream economic and behavioral consequences of observing others who have been betrayed by a similar entity, particularly in the context of charitable organizations. Unpacking the Black box: How inter- and intra-team forces motivate team rationality Research How can we ensure that teams can fulfill their full cognitive potential? This paper explores how team members can be motivated so that, collectively, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Eileen Chou New Associate Dean for Academic Affairs News The Batten School is delighted to announce the appointment of Professor Eileen Chou as associate dean for academic affairs, effective July 1, 2023. Why Americans Feel More Pain News Millions of Americans are suffering from chronic pain linked to troubled childhoods, loneliness, and a host of other pressures on working families. Economic insecurity is also associated with more pain, according to a study by Batten Professor Eileen Chou cited in a New York Times series exploring the interrelated crisis impacting working-class America.
Eileen Chou Eileen Chou, associate dean for academic affairs and Batten Family Bicentennial Teacher-Scholar Leadership Professor of Public Policy at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy, researches the organizational, social, and psychological forces that shape individual and group behavior in organizational settings. Read full bio
Once bitten, twice shy: The negative spillover effect of seeing betrayal of trust. Research Our research demonstrates that people who had perceived a recent betrayal were significantly less likely to trust a new entity that shared nominal group membership with the previous trust transgressor. By systematically investigating whether, why, and to what extent betrayal spillover can subsequently contaminate trust development, we present a robust account of the downstream economic and behavioral consequences of observing others who have been betrayed by a similar entity, particularly in the context of charitable organizations.
Unpacking the Black box: How inter- and intra-team forces motivate team rationality Research How can we ensure that teams can fulfill their full cognitive potential? This paper explores how team members can be motivated so that, collectively, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
Eileen Chou New Associate Dean for Academic Affairs News The Batten School is delighted to announce the appointment of Professor Eileen Chou as associate dean for academic affairs, effective July 1, 2023.
Why Americans Feel More Pain News Millions of Americans are suffering from chronic pain linked to troubled childhoods, loneliness, and a host of other pressures on working families. Economic insecurity is also associated with more pain, according to a study by Batten Professor Eileen Chou cited in a New York Times series exploring the interrelated crisis impacting working-class America.