Concordia University - HEC



Concordia University

John Molson School of Business

Department of Marketing

Doctoral Seminar in Behavioral Decision Theory,

and Information Search

ADMI 830Z

Winter 2007

Professor: Dr. Gad Saad

Office: SGW, GM-building 300-29 Tel: 848-2424 (ext. 2900)

E-mail: gadsaad@jmsb.concordia.ca

Office Hours: to be determined and/or by appointment

Grading: 10% class participation

30% exam

20% oral presentations of self-selected readings

40% oral presentation of end-of-term project proposal (bonus: collection

of data)

Course Objectives:

The four key purposes of this course are:

1. to familiarize the students with the key foundations of behavioral decision theory; Included here are demonstrations of violations of rational choice axioms, heuristics and decision rules used and the corresponding biases;

2. to introduce the students to the key behavioral decision making movements including contingent, adaptive and constructive decision making;

3. to cover key portions of the vast literature on information search but from a process-tracing/behavioral perspective;

4. to cover other areas of interest including the application of evolutionary psychology and associated notions such as ecological rationality in understanding

decision-making/consumer behavior;

COURSE OUTLINE (By Topics)

Week 1: Introduction

Week 2: Adaptive Decision Maker (Chapters 1-5)

Week 3: Individual Differences in Decision Making Styles

Week 4: Moderators of Information Search

Week 5: Stopping Strategies & Distortion of Information

Week 6: Violations of Rational Choice/Heuristics/Biases

Week 7: Ecological Rationality & “Hot” Cognitions in Decision Making

Week 8: Introduction to Evolutionary Psychology (EP)

Week 9: Darwinian Modules I- Mating

Week 10: Darwinian Modules II- Survival, Kin Selection, and Reciprocal Altruism

Week 11: Applications of EP in Decision Making and Related Behavioral Disciplines

Week 12: EXAM

Week 13: Oral Presentations

REQUIRED READINGS

Week 1: Introduction

None required

Week 2: Adaptive Decision Making

Payne, J. W., Bettman, J. R., & Johnson, E. J. (1993). The Adaptive Decision Maker.

Cambridge University Press. Chapters 1-5.

Week 3: Individual Differences in Decision Making Styles

Thunholm, P. (2004). Decision-making style: habit, style or both? Personality and

Individual Differences, 36, 931-944.

König, C. J., & Kleinmann, M. (2004). Business before pleasure: no strategy for

procastinators? Personality and Individual Differences, 37, 1045-1057.

Chu, P. C., & Spires, E. E. (2003). Perceptions of accuracy and effort of decision

strategies. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 91, 203-214.

Shiloh, S., & Rotem, E. (1994). What makes a good decision maker? Self and social

evaluations of decision making competence versus performance measures in a

simulated decision. Personality and Individual Differences, 17, 477-488.

Shiloh, S., Koren, S., & Zakay, D. (2001). Individual differences in compensatory

decision-making style and need for closure as correlates of subjective decision making

complexity and difficulty. Personality and Individual Differences, 30, 699-710.

Ferrari, J. R., & Dovidio, J. F. (2001). Behavioral information search by indecisives.

Personality and Individual Differences, 30, 1113-1123.

Week 4: Moderators of Information Search

Beatty, S. E., & Smith, S. M. (1987). External Search Effort: An Investigation Across Several Product Categories, Journal of Consumer Research, 14, 83-95.

Bloch, P. H., Sherrell, D. L., & Ridgway, N. M. (1986). Consumer Search: An Extended Framework. Journal of Consumer Research, 13, 119-126.

Brucks, M. (1985). The Effects of Product Class Knowledge on Information Search Behavior. Journal of Consumer Research, 12 , 1-16.

Conway, M., & Giannopoulos, D. (1993). Dysphoria and Decision Making: Limited Information Use for Evaluations of Multiattribute Targets. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 64, 613-623.

Edland, A., & Svenson, O. (1993). Judgement and Decision Making under Time Pressure: Studies and Findings. In Time Pressure and Stress in Human Judgement and

Decision Making, O. Svenson and A.J. Maule (eds.), New York: Plenum Press, 195-

214.

Verplanken, B., Hazenberg, P. T., & G. R. Palenewen (1992). Need for Cognition and External Information Search Effort. Journal of Research in Personality, 26, 128- 136.

Week 5: Stopping Strategies (termination of search) & Distortion of Information

Todd, P. M. (in press). How much information do we need? European Journal of

Operational Research.

Browne, G. J., & Pitts, M. G. (2004). Stopping rule using information search in design

problems. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 95, 208-224.

Aschenbrenner, K.M., Albert, D., & Schmalhofer, F. (1984). Stochastic Choice Heuristics. Acta Psychologica, 56, 153-166.

Bockenholt, U., Albert, D., Aschenbrenner, M., & Schmalhofer, F. (1991). The Effects of Attractiveness, Dominance, and Attribute Differences on Information Acquisition in Multiattribute Binary Choice. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision

Processes, 49, 258-281.

Saad, G., & Russo, J. E., (1996). Stopping criteria in sequential choice. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 67, 258-270.

Russo, J. E., Medvec, V. H., & Meloy, M. G. (1996). The Distortion of Information During Decisions. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 66, 102-110.

Phillips, F. (2002). The distortion of criteria after decision-making. Organizational

Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 88, 769-784.

Svenson, O. (1992). Differentiation and Consolidation Theory of Human Decision

Making: A Frame of Reference for the Study of Pre- and Post-Decision Processes.

Acta Psychologica, 80, 143-168.

Week 6: Violations of Rational Choice, Heuristics, and Biases

Grether, D. M., & Plott, C. R. (1979). Economic Theory of Choice and the Preference Reversal Phenomenon. American Economic Review, 69, 623-638.

Huber, J., Payne, J. W., & Puto, C. (1982). Adding Asymmetrically Dominated Alternatives: Violations of Regularity and the Similarity Hypothesis. Journal of Consumer Research, 9, 90-98.

Kahneman, D., & Tversky, A. (1979). Prospect Theory: An Analysis of Decision Under Risk. Econometrica, 47, 263-291.

Slovic, P. (1975). Choice Between Equally-Valued Alternatives. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 1, 280-287.

Tversky, A. (1969). Intransitivity of Preferences. Psychological Review, 76, 31-48.

Tversky, A., & Kahneman, D. (1984). Judgment Under Uncertainty: Heuristics and Biases. In Judment Under Uncertainty: Heuristics and Biases, D. Kahneman, P. Slovic and A. Tversky (eds.), Cambridge University Press, 3-20.

Tversky, A., & Kahneman, D. (1986). Rational Choice and the Framing of Decisions. Journal of Business, 59, S251-S278.

Week 7: Ecological Rationality and “Hot” Cognitions in Decision Making

Gigerenzer, G. and Todd, P. M. (1999). Fast and Frugal Heuristics: The Adaptive

Toolbox. In Simple Heuristics That Make Us Smart (pp. 3-34), Gigerenzer, G., Todd,

P. M. and the ABC Research Group. (eds.). New York: Oxford University Press.

Hutchinson, J. M. C., & Gigerenzer, G. (2005). Simple heuristics and rules of thumb:

where psychologists and behavioural biologists might meet. Behavioural Processes,

69, 97-124.

Goldstein, D. G., & Gigerenzer, G. (2002). Models of ecological rationality. Psychological

Review, 109, 75-90.

Ariely, D., & Loewenstein, G. (in press). The Heat of the Moment: The Effect of Sexual

Arousal on Sexual Decision Making. Journal of Behavioral Decision Making.

Wilson, M., & Daly, M. (2004). Do pretty women inspire men to discount the future?

Proceedings of the Royal Society of London: Series B (Suppl.), 271, S177-S179.

Winkielman, P., & Berridge, K. (2003). Irrational wanting and subrational liking: How

rudimentary motivational and affective processes shape preferences and choices.

Political Psychology, 24, 657-680.

Mellers, B. A., & McGraw, A. P. (2001). Anticipated emotions as guides to choice.

Current Directions in Psychological Science, 10, 210-214.

Lozano, D. I., Crites, S. L., & Aikman, S. N. (1999). Changes in food attitudes as a

function of hunger. Appetite, 32, 207-218.

Loewenstein, G. (1996). Out of Control: Visceral Influences on Behavior. Organizational

Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 65, 272-292.

Week 8: Introduction to Evolutionary Psychology (EP)

Tooby, J., & Cosmides, L. (1992). The Psychological Foundations of Culture. The Adapted Mind: Evolutionary Psychology and the Generation of Culture, J. H. Barkow, L. Cosmides, & J. Tooby (Eds.), Oxford University Press: New York, 19- 136.

Tooby, J., & Cosmides, L. (1990). The past explains the present: Emotional adaptations and

the structure of ancestral environments. Ethology and Sociobiology, 11, 375-424.

Buss, D. M. (1995). Evolutionary psychology: A new paradigm for psychological science.

Psychological Inquiry, 6, 1-30.

Buss, D. (1996). The Evolutionary Psychology of Human Social Strategies. In E. Tory Higgins & A. W. Kruglanski (Eds.), Social Psychology: Handbook of Basic Principles,

New York: Guilford, 3-38.

Ketelaar, T., & Ellis, B. J. (2000). Are Evolutionary Explanations Unfalsifiable?

Evolutionary Psychology and the Lakatosian Philosophy of Science. Psychological

Inquiry, 11, 1-21.

Cooper, W. S. (1987). Decision Theory as a Branch of Evolutionary Theory: A

Biological Derivation of Savage Axioms. Psychological Review, 94, 395-411.

Week 9: Domain-Specific Decision Making- Mating

Todd, P. M., & Miller, G. F. (1999). From pride and prejudice to persuasion: satisficing in

mate search. In G. Gigerenzer, P. M. Todd, & the ABC Research Group (Eds.), Simple

Heuristics That Make Us Smart, (pp. 287-308), New York: Oxford University Press.

Trivers, R. L. (1972). Parental investment and sexual selection. In B. Campbell (Ed.),

Sexual selection and descent of man: 1871-1971 (pg. 136-179). Chicago: Aldine.

Buss, D. M., & Schmitt, D. P. (1993). Sexual strategies theory: An evolutionary perspective

on human mating. Psychological Review, 100, 204-232.

Gangestad, S. W., & Thornhill, R. (1998). Menstrual cycle variation in women's

preferences for the scent of symmetrical men. Proceedings of the Royal Society of

London. Series B, Biological Sciences, 265, 927-33.

Hughes, S. M., Dispenza, F., & Gallup, Jr., G. G. (2004). Ratings of voice attractiveness

predict sexual behavior and body configuration. Evolution and Human Behavior, 25,

295-304.

Singh, D. (1993). Adaptive significance of waist-to-hip ratio and female physical

attractiveness. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65, 293-307.

Week 10: Domain-Specific Decision-Making II – Survival, Kin Selection, &

Reciprocal Altruism

Trivers, R. L. (1971). The evolution of reciprocal altruism. Quarterly Review of Biology,

46, 35-57.

Cosmides, L. (1989). The logic of social exchange: Has natural selection shaped how

humans reason? Studies with the Wason selection task. Cognition, 31, 187-276.

Yamagishi, T., Tanida, S., Mashima, R., Shimoma, E., & Kanazawa, S. (2003). You can

judge a book by its cover: Evidence that cheaters may look different from cooperators.

Evolution and Human Behavior, 24, 290-301.

Jankowiak, W., & Diderich, M. (2000). Sibling solidarity in a polygamous community in

the USA: Unpacking inclusive fitness. Evolution and Human Behavior, 21, 125-139.

Zvoch, K. (1999). Family type and investment in education: A comparison of genetic and

stepparent families. Evolution and Human Behavior, 20, 453-464.

Euler, H. A., & Weitzel, B. (1996). Discriminative grandparental solicitude as reproductive

strategy. Human Nature, 7, 39-59.

Smith, M. S., Kish, B. J., & Crawford, C. B. (1987). Inheritance of wealth as human kin

investments. Ethology and Sociobiology, 8, 171-182.

Burnstein, E., Crandall, C., & Kitayama, S. (1994). Some Neo-Darwinian Rules for Altruism: Weighing Cues for Inclusive Fitness as a Function of the Biological Importance of the Decision. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 67, 773-

789.

Week 11: Applications of EP in Decision Making and Related Fields

Saad, G. (forthcoming). Applying Evolutionary Psychology in Understanding the

Darwinian Roots of Consumption Phenomena. Managerial and Decision Economics.

Saad, G., & Peng. A. (forthcoming). Applying Evolutionary Psychology in Designing

Effective Intervention Strategies: The Case of Sun Tanning. Psychology & Marketing.

Saad, G., Gill, T., & Nataraajan, R. (2005). Are Laterborns more Innovative and Non-

Conforming Consumers than Firstborns? A Darwinian Perspective. Journal of Business

Research, 58, 902-909.

Saad, G., & Gill, T. (2003). An Evolutionary Psychology Perspective on Gift-Giving

Among Young Adults. Psychology & Marketing, 20, 765-784.

Colarelli, S. M., & Dettman, J. R. (2003). Intuitive evolutionary perspectives in marketing

practices. Psychology & Marketing, 20, 837-865.

Saad, G. & Gill, T. (2001). Sex differences in the ultimatum game: An evolutionary

psychology perspective. Journal of Bioeconomics, 3, 171-193.

Saad, G., & Gill, T. (2000). Applications of Evolutionary Psychology in Marketing.

Psychology and Marketing, 17, 1005-1034.

Week 12: EXAM

Week 13: ORAL PRESENTATIONS (Projects)

Structure of each lecture:

- 60-75 minutes of lecturing/discussion of assigned material;

- 15 minutes break;

- weekly student presentations (20-30 minutes long);

- remainder of class (if time available) will be spent discussing the end-of-term projects;

Exam:

- You are responsible for all assigned readings and all other material covered in class.

- The exam will consist of short essays.

Presentations of Self-Selected Readings:

- All of the PhD students will ultimately have to orally defend their dissertation in front of an audience. In light of the above and given that most employers (in academia and/or in industry) place communications skills as a top priority in prospective employees, this course will require students to make oral presentations typically once every two weeks.

- In each of weeks 3 throught 11, students will make 20-30 minute presentations of a self-chosen paper. Students can choose any empirical paper that was cited in the assigned readings of that week.

- In week 2 (time permitting), I shall present one of my papers as an example of the structure to be followed when presenting the self-chosen papers.

- typically, the presentation will have the following structure:

statement of problem -> literature review -> hypotheses -> procedure -> results -> conclusion -> student's evaluation of the study (i.e., its strengths and weaknesses, ways to improve it, etc.)

Project Presentation:

- 30 minute time-limit;

- structure should be similar to that used in the weekly presentations;

Evaluation of Presentations:

- Each presentation will be judged on the following dimensions:

1) clarity

2) completeness (covered satisfactorily all of the major headings)

3) content (e.g., mastery of the material etc.)

4) organization

- each item will be scored on a 10-point scale: very poor to very good;

Project:

Identify a topic within decision making that interests you, conduct a detailed literature review of the area followed by a proposal for an original study;

BONUS: conducting the proposed study (i.e., running the experiment, analyzing the data etc.)

Evaluation of Project:

1. How creative the problem is;

2. How ambitious the problem is;

3. How well the problem is motivated;

4. How thorough and complete the literature review is;

5. Originality of the proposed hypotheses;

6. Appropriateness of the proposed procedure (data collection technique, measures used);

7. Theoretical and practical implications of the proposed study;

8. Grammar and spelling;

9. Clarity and conciseness of writing;

10. Overall performance;

- each item will be scored on a 10-point scale: very poor to very good;

BONUS (for running the study and analyzing the data: Up to 10 additional points

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