Title
Reasoning and mathematical skills contribute to normatively superior decision making under risk: evidence from the game of dice task.
Abstract
In this study, we assessed to what extent reasoning improves performance in decision making under risk in a laboratory gambling task (Game of Dice Task-Double, GDT-D). We also investigated to what degree individuals with above average mathematical competence decide better than those with average mathematical competence. Eighty-five participants performed the GDT-D and several numerical tasks. Forty-two individuals were asked to calculate the probabilities and the outcomes associated with the different options of the GDT-D before performing it. The other 43 individuals performed the GDT-D at the beginning of the test session. Both reasoning and mathematical competence had a positive effect on decision making. Different measures of mathematical competence correlated with advantageous performance in decision making. Results suggest that decision making under explicit risk conditions improves when individuals are encouraged to reflect about the contingencies of a decision situation. Interventions based on numerical reasoning may also be useful for patients with difficulties in decision making.
Year
DOI
Venue
2017
10.1007/s10339-017-0813-x
Cognitive Processing
Keywords
Field
DocType
Decision making,Intervention,Mathematical abilities,Ratio processing,Reasoning
Social psychology,Psychological intervention,Optimal decision,Psychology,Cognitive psychology,Business decision mapping,R-CAST,Evidential reasoning approach,Dice,Decision engineering
Journal
Volume
Issue
ISSN
18
3
1612-4782
Citations 
PageRank 
References 
1
0.41
2
Authors
3
Name
Order
Citations
PageRank
Marie-Theres Pertl110.41
Laura Zamarian2636.75
Margarete Delazer3333.55