Reliability of consumer choices for conflicting price promotions

Abstract

Decisional conflict arises when all options of a multiple dimensional decisions task has equal or close to equal expected utility, causing additional mental effort. In this study, we investigated the potential of capturing decisional conflict related mental effort in a realistic complex decision-making task. In a binary choice paradigm, participants made decisions related to electricity supply plans. The study presented in each trial a choice with two different utility plans where variables related to fixed rate or time-of-use plans with peak-rate value and duration were compared against each other. We monitored the anterior prefrontal cortex of participants during binary decision-making, to assess the level of conflict using functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). Results indicate that fNIRS is able to measure the difference between conflict and no conflict decision making processes consistent with the neural efficiency hypothesis.