The level of information held by a problem solver influences decision processes
The level of information held by a problem solver influences decision processes

Summary/Abstract: Traditional Discounted Utility Model (DU model) fails to explain human behavior for inter temporal choice, because Rational models in decision processes are marked out by many anomalies: individual choices are strictly influenced by cognitive and motivational biases which can be different among people and for each person in diferent situation. The diference in the efects (positives and negatives) of emotions and impulsivity,and the consequent in consistent preferences, are mainly linked to mental models of each person. We point out that the level of information of each problem solver plays an important role in causing in consistent preferences: in a single or multi agent decision process each mental model is infuenced by the presence, the absence or the in consistency of information about the problem or about other members of the decision making group. We demonstrate that only about strict conditions decision models coincide with real choices, because only in particular cases the optimum and rational decision matches with the real one. The dificulty in modeling these efects is even greater because behavioral biases influence also the modeler. Behavioral Operational Research (BOR) studies these inuences to create efcient models to define choices in similar decision processes.

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