| Outlined in seven qualitative principles and implemented in a connectionist model, a theory is proposed to provide an integrated account for numerous related findings pertaining to contextual effects on decision making. The findings include the attraction effect and its enhancement in reason-based choice, the distance effect, the similarity effect, the compromise effect, and attribute importance restructuring. In this theory, choice behavior is explained as a dynamic process that achieves differentiation of evaluations and coherence among various aspects of deliberation, and this process is constrained by inter-alternative similarity relationship. In addition, valuation of alternatives is determined by a psychophysical conversion between objective and subjective measures of goodness.; The theory is developed in the following steps. First a general framework is outlined as seven qualitative hypotheses, followed by a connectionist model constructed to implement these hypotheses and yield computer simulations of human data. In this model, neural-style representation and computation are employed to model decision behavior. The model is then re-cast into a slightly different form to reconcile disparities between the simulation results and human data. Behavioral studies were conducted to test two hypotheses in the framework, the differentiation hypothesis and the psychophysical hypothesis. Both hypotheses were supported. Additional behavioral evidence derived from previous research was discussed in an effort to support the proposed theory against rival accounts. The significance of the theory is discussed in terms of various theoretical perspectives, such as bounded rationality, choice as construction, the process approach, connectionism, choice as perception, reason-based choice, and so on. |
