Decision-Making Competence: More Than Intelligence? Bruine de Bruin, Wändi; Parker, Andrew M.; Fischhoff, Baruch
Current directions in psychological science,
04/2020, Letnik:
29, Številka:
2
Journal Article
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Decision-making competence refers to the ability to make better decisions, as defined by decision-making principles posited by models of rational choice. Historically, psychological research on ...decision-making has examined how well people follow these principles under carefully manipulated experimental conditions. When individual differences received attention, researchers often assumed that individuals with higher fluid intelligence would perform better. Here, we describe the development and validation of individual-differences measures of decision-making competence. Emerging findings suggest that decision-making competence may tap not only into fluid intelligence but also into motivation, emotion regulation, and experience (or crystallized intelligence). Although fluid intelligence tends to decline with age, older adults may be able to maintain decision-making competence by leveraging age-related improvements in these other skills. We discuss implications for interventions and future research.
In this study, we translated and localized the Adult Decision‐making Competence scale (A‐DMC) and tested its reliability and validity with large samples. Results show the Chinese A‐DMC has relatively ...good reliability (Cronbach's alpha above 0.6 and test–retest reliability coefficients ranging from 0.44 to 0.78 on all subscales), comparable with the original version. Regarding validity, results of exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis support the one‐factor model, indicating the A‐DMC has good internal consistency and construct validity. A‐DMC scores correlated positively with cognitive ability, constructive decision‐making styles, and good decision outcomes. Additionally, individuals with higher A‐DMC scores were found to perform better on the Cambridge gambling task and Iowa gambling task. These results confirm the validity of the Chinese version of the A‐DMC, which is suitable for measuring decision‐making competence in Chinese adults.
Decision-making competence refers to the ability to make better decisions, as defined by decision-making principles posited by models of rational choice. The adult decision-making competence (A-DMC) ...scale is a relatively mature evaluation tool used for decision-making competence. However, the A-DMC is yet far from other mature psychological evaluation tools, and especially the structure of A-DMC remains unclear. In the current study, we estimated a regularized partial correlation network of decision-making competence in a Chinese sample consisting of 339 adults who were evaluated by the A-DMC, and then the centrality indicators were calculated. The results revealed that all nodes of the decision-making competence networks are positively associated, except for the association of resistance to framing (RF) and resistance to sunk costs (SC). The strongest edge was between RF and applying decision rules (DR; regularized partial correlation = 0.37). The centrality indicators of RF and applying DR were highest, revealing that these two variables may play important roles in the decision-making competence network. Our study conceptualizes the decision-making competence from network perspectives, so as to provide some insights for future researches.
•Decision-making competence is a skill which is acquired over time. Its formation is affected by multiple backgrounds and risks, such as rational and irrational psychology.•In a modified multi-agent ...system with feedback control, the exchange of agent’s wealth depends on investment behavior. The saving propensity and diffusion are related to decision-making competence and wealth.•An extra risk shared by all agent is introduced into our micro binary wealth exchange model.•The effects of relevant parameters on the macro properties of kinetic models and the marginal distributions of wealth or decision-making competence are discussed through several examples.
A kinetic model, describing the influence of decision-making competence in evolution of wealth for a multi-agent system with feedback control, is investigated. The control term is analyzed by the minimization of a quadratic cost functional, which aims to decrease the wealth gap between agents. The constant saving propensities and diffusion coefficients in the model are modified as functions of wealth and decision competence, respectively. In our micro binary wealth exchange model, an extra risk shared by all agent is discussed, which increases the inequality of wealth distribution. The main macro properties of the kinetic model and the marginal distributions of wealth and decision-making competence are considered through several examples. Our results illustrate that the disequilibrium of decision-making competence is one of the reasons to increase wealth inequality.
While an extensive literature in decision neuroscience has elucidated the neurobiological foundations of decision making, prior research has focused primarily on group‐level effects in a sample ...population. Due to the presence of inherent differences between individuals’ cognitive abilities, it is also important to examine the neural correlates of decision making that explain interindividual variability in cognitive performance. This study therefore investigated how individual differences in decision making competence, as measured by the Adult Decision Making Competence (A‐DMC) battery, are related to functional brain connectivity patterns derived from resting‐state fMRI data in a sample of 304 healthy participants. We examined connectome‐wide associations, identifying regions within frontal, parietal, temporal, and occipital cortex that demonstrated significant associations with decision making competence. We then assessed whether the functional interactions between brain regions sensitive to decision making competence and seven intrinsic connectivity networks (ICNs) were predictive of specific facets of decision making assessed by subtests of the A‐DMC battery. Our findings suggest that individual differences in specific facets of decision making competence are mediated by ICNs that support executive, social, and perceptual processes, and motivate an integrative framework for understanding the neural basis of individual differences in decision making competence.
According to international transgender care guidelines, transgender adolescents should have medical decision-making competence (MDC) to start puberty suppression (PS) and halt endogenous pubertal ...development. However, MDC is a debated concept in adolescent transgender care and little is known about the transgender adolescents’, their parents’, and clinicians’ perspectives on this. Increasing our understanding of these perspectives can improve transgender adolescent care. A qualitative interview study with adolescents attending two Dutch gender identity clinics (eight transgender adolescents who proceeded to gender-affirming hormones after PS, and six adolescents who discontinued PS) and 12 of their parents, and focus groups with ten clinicians was conducted. From thematic analysis, three themes emerged regarding transgender adolescents’ MDC to start PS: (1) challenges when assessing MDC, (2) aspects that are considered when assessing MDC, and (3) MDC’s relevance. The four criteria one needs to fulfill to have MDC—understanding, appreciating, reasoning, communicating a choice—were all, to a greater or lesser extent, mentioned by most participants, just as MDC being relative to a specific decision and context. Interestingly, most adolescents, parents and clinicians find understanding and appreciating PS and its consequences important for MDC. Nevertheless, most state that the adolescents did not fully understand and appreciate PS and its consequences, but were nonetheless able to decide about PS. Parents’ support of their child was considered essential in the decision-making process. Clinicians find MDC difficult to assess and put into practice in a uniform way. Dissemination of knowledge about MDC to start PS would help to adequately support adolescents, parents and clinicians in the decision-making process.
The desire to die brings about the most radical consequences that can occur in a human life. It therefore requires a high degree of justification. Questions have been raised as to whether this ...justification can be given in the case of a suicide desire in mental illness. Landmark court decisions and the practice of assisted suicide organizations make the justification of a mentally ill person’s suicide desire dependent on the desire not being an expression of the illness. This view is explained in detail and finally rejected as misleading. That argument is based on a conceptual analysis of the self, the nature of reasons for action, and the meaning of necessity with respect to personal autonomy. Against this background, it is shown that it is irrelevant for the assessment of the desire to die whether it has been causally brought about by the mental illness. On the other hand, what matters is whether the person has an internal reason that gives importance to his or her desire. This is to be distinguished from external, normative expectations of a person’s “normal” desires. An internal reason that justifies the person’s concern must give expression to who the person essentially is and what the person fundamentally cares about. Three objections to this view are formulated, critically evaluated, and rejected. From these considerations it follows that a professional assessment of the desire to die of mentally ill persons must consist primarily in clarifying whether the desire to die fulfills the stated conditions for freedom, irrespective of the mental illness.
Decision-making competence (DMC) has potential utility in incrementally predicting decision-making behavior relative to general mental ability (g). However, prior research presents an incomplete ...depiction of the degree to which these two constructs overlap. This paper evaluated both theoretical and empirical discriminant validity evidence for DMC. Theoretically, DMC and g are distinct constructs though highly interconnected; both constructs exist within the intelligence nomological network. However, our empirical findings demonstrate scores on the Adult-Decision Making Competence assessment, are largely indistinguishable from g. Future research should treat DMC as an acquired skill as opposed to an underlying individual difference.
•Theoretically, general mental ability and decision-making competence are distinct.•Empirically, decision-making competence was redundant with general mental ability.•The construct-level correlation between the two constructs was 0.91.•The Adult-Decision-Making Competence subscales had poor internal structure.
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