Cognitive Studies: Bulletin of the Japanese Cognitive Science Society
Online ISSN : 1881-5995
Print ISSN : 1341-7924
ISSN-L : 1341-7924
Research Papers
The Directionality of Verbal Probability Expressions and Its Effects on Decision Making:
An Analysis of Cognitive Processes from Reasons for Choice
Hidehito Honda
Author information
JOURNAL FREE ACCESS

2006 Volume 13 Issue 2 Pages 225-239

Details
Abstract
Recent literature has shown that verbal expressions of uncertainty (verbal probabilities) can be dichotomized. One type is “positive”, which leads to the focus on the occurrence of an uncertainty event. The other, negative terms, suggests its non-occurrence. The present study explored how this distinction, called directionality, affects decisions by analyzing decision reasons. The results showed that focus on attributions of alternatives stayed intact regardless of the types of probability words, but the non-occurrence event was more salient when a negative term was presented than when a positive term was presented. These results jointly indicated that the semantic function of directionality can explain the effects of directionality on decisions. This study also showed the possibility that the decision processes based on negative terms are highly analogous to those based on numerical probabilities. Other implications on decision processes are discussed.
Content from these authors
© 2006 Japanese Cognitive Science Society
Previous article
feedback
Top