How Does Prospect Theory Reflect Heuristics' Probability Sensitivity in Risky Choice?

Renata S. Suter, Thorsten Pachur, Ralph Hertwig

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

5 Scopus citations

Abstract

Two prominent approaches to describing how people make decisions between risky options are algebraic models and heuristics. The two approaches are based on fundamentally different algorithms and are thus usually treated as antithetical, suggesting that they may be incommensurable. Using cumulative prospect theory (CPT; Tversky & Kahneman, 1992) as an illustrative case of an algebraic model, we demonstrate how algebraic models and heuristics can mutually inform each other. Specifically, we highlight that CPT describes decisions in terms of psychophysical characteristics, such as diminishing sensitivity to probabilities, and we show that this holds even when the underlying process is heuristic in nature. Our results suggest that algebraic models and heuristics might offer complementary rather than rival modeling frameworks and highlight the potential role of heuristic principles in information processing for prominent descriptive constructs in risky choice.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationCooperative Minds
Subtitle of host publicationSocial Interaction and Group Dynamics - Proceedings of the 35th Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society, CogSci 2013
EditorsMarkus Knauff, Natalie Sebanz, Michael Pauen, Ipke Wachsmuth
PublisherThe Cognitive Science Society
Pages1408-1413
Number of pages6
ISBN (Electronic)9780976831891
StatePublished - 2013
Externally publishedYes
Event35th Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society - Cooperative Minds: Social Interaction and Group Dynamics, CogSci 2013 - Berlin, Germany
Duration: 31 Jul 20133 Aug 2013

Publication series

NameCooperative Minds: Social Interaction and Group Dynamics - Proceedings of the 35th Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society, CogSci 2013

Conference

Conference35th Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society - Cooperative Minds: Social Interaction and Group Dynamics, CogSci 2013
Country/TerritoryGermany
CityBerlin
Period31/07/133/08/13

Keywords

  • computational modeling
  • cumulative prospect theory
  • heuristics
  • probability sensitivity
  • risky choice

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