Choice Conflict and Subjective Uncertainty in Decision Making

Abstract

Subjective uncertainty and information search behavior were examined as a function of response uncertainty (H), estimated from the number and relative likelihood of responses elicited by tachistoscopically presented pictures. Both subjective uncertainty and search increased with H and S's information search correlated positively with reports of subjective uncertainty. The data suggest that: (a) subjective uncertainty (S.U.) and search behavior are related to uncertainty based on the number and relative strength of the responses elicited by a choice situation; magnitude estimates of S.U. and search increased with H, the weighted uncertainty of the individual competing choice tendencies; and (b) subjective uncertainty mediates predecisional information search behavior; the greater the magnitude of S.U. elicited by a problem, the more S searches.