Individual Differences and the Effect of Information Format on Decision Making
Open Access
- Author:
- Sprehn, Kelly Austin
- Graduate Program:
- Industrial Engineering
- Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Document Type:
- Dissertation
- Date of Defense:
- February 14, 2014
- Committee Members:
- Gul Kremer, Dissertation Advisor/Co-Advisor
Dr David Riley, Dissertation Advisor/Co-Advisor
David Arthur Nembhard, Committee Member
Scarlett Rae Miller, Committee Member
Frank Edward Ritter, Special Member - Keywords:
- Individual Differences
Decision Making
Cognitive Style
Information Format
Home Energy
Energy Decisions - Abstract:
- Information format, along with individual differences of cognitive style, personality, and ecological paradigms can influence decisions about energy efficiency. Understanding the consequences will help improve the effectiveness of home energy audits, in an industry seeking improved communication and interaction with its customers. The presentation of information can affect recall of past memories and emotions, perception of current ideas, and future decision-making. The research presented in this dissertation helps clarify the relationship between individual differences and decision-making, particularly in a home energy audit setting. Using the Object-Spatial-Verbal model and assessment tool of cognitive style, a detailed model of information format and cognitive style is explored. The Five Factor Model (FFM) of personality, and the New Ecological Paradigm (NEP) measuring pro-environmental propensity, represent additional internal factors. Utility theory provides a structure on which decision-making is measured and tested. Through a series of experiments, it is shown that cognitive style plays an important role in both the usability of information as well as subsequent decision-making processes. The appropriate presentation of information can resonate with the user. Matching primary, secondary, and tertiary cognitive style to information formats demonstrated significant differences in the perception and comprehension of information. In the laboratory-based study, a student population recalled significantly more information when the format matched either their primary or secondary cognitive styles. In a more applied setting, using homeowners and home energy assessment reports, a model was created through the significant relationships between personality, cognitive style, and decision-making variables. Cognitive style variables affect the relationship between personality factors and decision-making variables. The correlation between positive usability scores and the positive change in ecological paradigms suggests that if an information stimulus is usable, there is higher potential for a shift to a more “green” or “ecologically-friendly” perspective. The converse may also be true; if a person experiences a positive shift in ecological paradigms, they are likely to consider a home energy assessment report more usable. The Cognitive Style and Personality in Decision Making (CSPDM) model adds to the literature in providing the insight that cognitive style, in combination with personality, will relate to decision-making risk tolerance levels. The experimentation is done in such a way as to add potential influential correlates in a naturalistic setting. This addition provides stronger correlations among the variables of personality and decision-making and inspires continued research in the integration of individual differences into decision-making models.