Timing of descriptions shapes experience-based risky choice

Abstract

Risky decisions based on the combination of different sources of information (e.g., decisions from description-plus-experience) have mostly been ignored, as research has focused on examining each source separately. Across three experiments, we explore the intricate relationship between experience and description by manipulating when descriptive information about risky options is made available during an experience-based task. The results show that the amount of prior experience moderates the way that descriptive information is considered and integrated in the decision-making process: Descriptions affected behavior more when participants had little experience with the task, whereas their effect was less pronounced with extended experience. This relationship reversed when participants had access to foregone payoffs, with descriptions being considered more when participants had more time to interact with the task. Potential mechanisms and theoretical accounts are discussed with an emphasis on how the results and conclusions of the present work can be applied to the effective design of warning labels.