Decision Making and Personality

Presenter Information

Megan Petersen, Minnesota State University, Mankato
Amber Schramm, Minnesota State University, Mankato

Location

CSU 253/4/5

Start Date

4-4-2011 10:00 AM

End Date

4-4-2011 10:30 AM

Student's Major

Psychology

Student's College

Social and Behavioral Sciences

Mentor's Name

Emily Stark

Mentor's Department

Psychology

Mentor's College

Social and Behavioral Sciences

Description

Previously, research has shown that participants who relied more on their emotions when making decisions were more likely to be influenced by the wording of the decision options than participants who did not rely on their emotions as much (Stark et al., unpublished manuscript). The framing effect refers to how wording of a specific topic affects the conclusions people draw, but little is understood about how frame affects choice (Tversky & Kahneman, 1981). This research examines how intuitive and rational personality traits influence decisions regarding threats to human life and property. The college students who participated in this study were given various decision scenarios presenting threats to human life and property. After reading each scenario, participants were instructed to express their thoughts concerning two competing plans in an open-ended format. Participants were also asked to choose between two plans for each scenario. Finally, participants completed questionnaires detailing their individual personality traits. We are interested in comparing personality traits and the decisions made between the two types of scenarios with the open ended thought responses. We expect to find that participants who are more intuitive and emotional will make different choices and show a stronger framing effect than participants who are less intuitive and emotional.