Distinction bias, a concept of decision theory, is the tendency to view two options as more distinctive when evaluating them simultaneously than when evaluating them separately.
One writer has presented what he called "a simplistic view" of distinction bias: When asked if someone would like an apple, they may say "Yes". So, an apple is placed before them and they begin to eat it and are happy. But what if two apples were placed on the table - one was the one they would have happily eaten and the other which is slightly fresher looking. The individual will choose the fresher apple and eat it and be happy but if asked, "would you have enjoyed eating that other apple", they would likely say "No". Even though in the alternate, no-choice reality they were perfectly happy with the apple. Moreover, if presented with five apples on a table, they might examine each apple so that they would be sure they had the best one, even though the time spent making that decision would be wasted. The reason for this is that distinction bias causes individuals to "over-examine and over-value the differences between things as we scrutinize them."[1]
The concept of the distinction bias was advanced by Christopher K. Hsee and Jiao Zhang of the University of Chicago as an explanation for differences in evaluations of options between joint evaluation mode and separate evaluation mode (2004).[2] Evaluation mode is a contextual feature in decision making. Joint evaluation mode is when options are evaluated simultaneously, and separate evaluation mode is when each option is evaluated in isolation (e.g., Hsee, 1998; Hsee & Leclerc, 1998). Research shows that evaluation mode affects the evaluation of options, such that options presented simultaneously are evaluated differently from the same options presented separately.
Hsee and Zhang (2004) offered a number of potential explanations for this change in preferences from joint evaluation to separate evaluation, including the distinction bias. The distinction bias suggests that comparing two options, as done in joint evaluation, makes even small differences between options salient. In other words, viewing options simultaneously makes them seem more dissimilar than when viewing and evaluating each in isolation.
When predictions or choices are made, explained Hsee and Zhang in their 2004 paper, people are often in the joint evaluation (JE) mode but when people experience an event, they are often in the single evaluation (SE) mode. The 'utility function' of an attribute can vary between single evaluation and joint evaluation. When people in joint evaluation make predictions or decisions for events to be experienced in single evaluation, they often resort to their joint evaluation preferences rather than single evaluation preferences and over-predict the difference that different values of an attribute will lead their happiness in single evaluation. This over-prediction is referred to as the distinction bias.[2]
Examples and applications
For example, when televisions are displayed next to each other on the sales floor, the difference in quality between two very similar, high-quality televisions may appear great. A consumer may pay a much higher price for the higher-quality television, even though the difference in quality is imperceptible when the televisions are viewed in isolation. Because the consumer will likely be watching only one television at a time, the lower-cost television would have provided a similar experience at a lower cost.
The same calculus can apply when one is choosing between a cheaper store-brand food product and a more expensive brand-name product. In many cases, the difference in taste between the two products would not be worth the difference in price. If the products were sampled in isolation, the difference in taste would be unnoticeable or negligible; consequently, the difference in price, not the difference in taste, ought to determine which choice the consumer makes. In 2010, a magazine asked consumers to try 12 brands of baked beans. Branston won the taste test, followed by Asda, Morrisons, and Heinz. It turned out that some consumers purchased the Heinz beans over the Morrisons beans, at half price of the Heinz beans, claiming taste differences.[3]
One writer has discussed the distinction bias in connection with such matters as choosing a job or a house. When making a choice between an interesting job that pays $60,000 a year and a boring job that pays $70,000 a year or a choice between two equally priced houses, one of them larger but farther from work, the average individual is likely to make false assumptions – for example, that $70,000 will make them feel exactly one-sixth better than $60,000, or that 4,000 square-foot house is one-third better than a 3,000 square-foot house. In reality, on average, we don't actually feel one-sixth better having the extra money or one-third better having the extra space. The more sensible approach, the writer advises in accordance with the research of Hsee and Zhang, is to avoid comparing two jobs, or houses, directly. Instead, consider each job, or house, individually and make an overall assessment of each one on its own, and then compare assessments, which allows them to make a choice that accurately predicts future experience.[4]
In 2009, Margaret E. Brooks, Ashley M. Guidroz, and Madhura Chakrabarti reported on two studies in which they had examined the reactions of job applicants to alternative approaches to diversity in employment decisions. The applicants preferred the so-called holistic approaches, and the magnitude of their preference was considerably greater when both approaches were evaluated simultaneously. The researchers found that the results, which they viewed as important for "applicant reactions research, human resource decision making, and policy formation", were consistent with distinction bias.[5]
^Benson, Jim. "Real Decisions or Reflexive Nitpicking: Distinction Bias". Our Founder. from the original on 2020-09-28. Retrieved 5 January 2017.
^ abHsee, Christopher; Zhang, Jiao (2004). "Distinction Bias: Misprediction and Mischoice Due to Joint Evaluation". Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 86 (5): 680–695. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.86.5.680. PMID 15161394. SSRN 929932.
^"How To Get Your Own Way (Critical Thinking)". How To Get Your Own Way. How To Get Your Own Way. Retrieved 5 January 2017.
^Dean, Jeremy (2008-05-19). . Psyblog. Archived from the original on 2008-05-27.
^Brooks, Margaret; Guidroz, Ashley M.; Chakrabarti, Madhura (12 November 2009). "Distinction Bias in Applicant Reactions to Using Diversity Information in Selection". International Journal of Selection and Assessment. 17 (4): 377–390. doi:10.1111/j.1468-2389.2009.00480.x. S2CID 144456313.
Further reading
Hsee, C.K. (1998). "Less is better: When low-value options are valued more highly than high-value options". Journal of Behavioral Decision Making. 11 (2): 107–121. doi:10.1002/(SICI)1099-0771(199806)11:2<107::AID-BDM292>3.0.CO;2-Y. S2CID 1187697.
Hsee, C.K.; Leclerc, F. (1998). "Will products look more attractive when presented separately or together?". The Journal of Consumer Research. 25 (2): 175–186. doi:10.1086/209534. S2CID 144016931.
Hsee, C.K.; Zhang, J. (2004). "Distinction bias: Misprediction and mischoice due to joint evaluation". Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 86 (5): 680–695. CiteSeerX10.1.1.484.9171. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.86.5.680. PMID 15161394.
August 23, 2023
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Distinction bias a concept of decision theory is the tendency to view two options as more distinctive when evaluating them simultaneously than when evaluating them separately One writer has presented what he called a simplistic view of distinction bias When asked if someone would like an apple they may say Yes So an apple is placed before them and they begin to eat it and are happy But what if two apples were placed on the table one was the one they would have happily eaten and the other which is slightly fresher looking The individual will choose the fresher apple and eat it and be happy but if asked would you have enjoyed eating that other apple they would likely say No Even though in the alternate no choice reality they were perfectly happy with the apple Moreover if presented with five apples on a table they might examine each apple so that they would be sure they had the best one even though the time spent making that decision would be wasted The reason for this is that distinction bias causes individuals to over examine and over value the differences between things as we scrutinize them 1 Contents 1 Hsee and Zhang 2 Examples and applications 3 Further studies 4 See also 5 References 6 Further readingHsee and Zhang EditThe concept of the distinction bias was advanced by Christopher K Hsee and Jiao Zhang of the University of Chicago as an explanation for differences in evaluations of options between joint evaluation mode and separate evaluation mode 2004 2 Evaluation mode is a contextual feature in decision making Joint evaluation mode is when options are evaluated simultaneously and separate evaluation mode is when each option is evaluated in isolation e g Hsee 1998 Hsee amp Leclerc 1998 Research shows that evaluation mode affects the evaluation of options such that options presented simultaneously are evaluated differently from the same options presented separately Hsee and Zhang 2004 offered a number of potential explanations for this change in preferences from joint evaluation to separate evaluation including the distinction bias The distinction bias suggests that comparing two options as done in joint evaluation makes even small differences between options salient In other words viewing options simultaneously makes them seem more dissimilar than when viewing and evaluating each in isolation When predictions or choices are made explained Hsee and Zhang in their 2004 paper people are often in the joint evaluation JE mode but when people experience an event they are often in the single evaluation SE mode The utility function of an attribute can vary between single evaluation and joint evaluation When people in joint evaluation make predictions or decisions for events to be experienced in single evaluation they often resort to their joint evaluation preferences rather than single evaluation preferences and over predict the difference that different values of an attribute will lead their happiness in single evaluation This over prediction is referred to as the distinction bias 2 Examples and applications EditFor example when televisions are displayed next to each other on the sales floor the difference in quality between two very similar high quality televisions may appear great A consumer may pay a much higher price for the higher quality television even though the difference in quality is imperceptible when the televisions are viewed in isolation Because the consumer will likely be watching only one television at a time the lower cost television would have provided a similar experience at a lower cost The same calculus can apply when one is choosing between a cheaper store brand food product and a more expensive brand name product In many cases the difference in taste between the two products would not be worth the difference in price If the products were sampled in isolation the difference in taste would be unnoticeable or negligible consequently the difference in price not the difference in taste ought to determine which choice the consumer makes In 2010 a magazine asked consumers to try 12 brands of baked beans Branston won the taste test followed by Asda Morrisons and Heinz It turned out that some consumers purchased the Heinz beans over the Morrisons beans at half price of the Heinz beans claiming taste differences 3 One writer has discussed the distinction bias in connection with such matters as choosing a job or a house When making a choice between an interesting job that pays 60 000 a year and a boring job that pays 70 000 a year or a choice between two equally priced houses one of them larger but farther from work the average individual is likely to make false assumptions for example that 70 000 will make them feel exactly one sixth better than 60 000 or that 4 000 square foot house is one third better than a 3 000 square foot house In reality on average we don t actually feel one sixth better having the extra money or one third better having the extra space The more sensible approach the writer advises in accordance with the research of Hsee and Zhang is to avoid comparing two jobs or houses directly Instead consider each job or house individually and make an overall assessment of each one on its own and then compare assessments which allows them to make a choice that accurately predicts future experience 4 Further studies EditThis section may be too technical for most readers to understand Please help improve it to make it understandable to non experts without removing the technical details August 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message In 2009 Margaret E Brooks Ashley M Guidroz and Madhura Chakrabarti reported on two studies in which they had examined the reactions of job applicants to alternative approaches to diversity in employment decisions The applicants preferred the so called holistic approaches and the magnitude of their preference was considerably greater when both approaches were evaluated simultaneously The researchers found that the results which they viewed as important for applicant reactions research human resource decision making and policy formation were consistent with distinction bias 5 See also EditLess is better effectReferences Edit Benson Jim Real Decisions or Reflexive Nitpicking Distinction Bias Our Founder Archived from the original on 2020 09 28 Retrieved 5 January 2017 a b Hsee Christopher Zhang Jiao 2004 Distinction Bias Misprediction and Mischoice Due to Joint Evaluation Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 86 5 680 695 doi 10 1037 0022 3514 86 5 680 PMID 15161394 SSRN 929932 How To Get Your Own Way Critical Thinking How To Get Your Own Way How To Get Your Own Way Retrieved 5 January 2017 Dean Jeremy 2008 05 19 How To Avoid Choosing the Wrong Job or House Fight the Distinction Bias Psyblog Archived from the original on 2008 05 27 Brooks Margaret Guidroz Ashley M Chakrabarti Madhura 12 November 2009 Distinction Bias in Applicant Reactions to Using Diversity Information in Selection International Journal of Selection and Assessment 17 4 377 390 doi 10 1111 j 1468 2389 2009 00480 x S2CID 144456313 Further reading EditHsee C K 1998 Less is better When low value options are valued more highly than high value options Journal of Behavioral Decision Making 11 2 107 121 doi 10 1002 SICI 1099 0771 199806 11 2 lt 107 AID BDM292 gt 3 0 CO 2 Y S2CID 1187697 Hsee C K Leclerc F 1998 Will products look more attractive when presented separately or together The Journal of Consumer Research 25 2 175 186 doi 10 1086 209534 S2CID 144016931 Hsee C K Zhang J 2004 Distinction bias Misprediction and mischoice due to joint evaluation Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 86 5 680 695 CiteSeerX 10 1 1 484 9171 doi 10 1037 0022 3514 86 5 680 PMID 15161394 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Distinction bias amp oldid 1126512509, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
