Rapid makes risky: Time pressure increases risk seeking in decisions from experience

Abstract

Time pressure is a common constraint on many real-world decisions, such as those made by traders placing orders in the stock market, bidders in an auction, or gamblers at a casino. Many of these situations also involve elements of risk or uncertainty. Previous research has mostly found that time pressure leads to more risky choices. These previous studies, however, have examined decisions made from probabilities that were explicitly described, rather than learned through experienced outcomes. Here we tested how time pressure influences decisions from experience, while manipulating outcome value. Participants under greater time pressure chose risky options more often, independent of outcome value. Our results suggest that, as with decisions from description, time pressure moderately increases risk seeking in decisions from experience.

Keywords:

• Decisions from experience
• Decision-making
• Risky choice
• Time pressure

ORCID

Christopher R. Madan http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3228-6501

Marcia L. Spetch http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0472-073X

Elliot A. Ludvig http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0031-6713