認知資源多寡對決策品質的影響-在聲音干擾與不同資訊控制度下做決策

Abstract

資訊控制度就是當人在搜尋資訊時，被賦予來決定搜尋內容、內容呈現順序、與資訊處理時間的自由度(Ariely, 2000)。但是在過去研究中，高資訊控制度對人的決策品質卻可能同時存在正向與負向的影響。在動機理論中，高資訊控制度讓人比較負責任，因為他們不想在做完選擇後才後悔；因此給予他們自由選擇的權利會讓他們做正確決策的動機提高並提升決策品質(Iyengar & Lepper, 2000)。但是從認知資源理論的角度來看，因為人在決定要如何蒐尋與處理搜尋到的資訊時，會拿掉部分認知資源。所以如果在高資訊控制度下，人所擁有的資源足以來處理所蒐集到的資訊，那麼她們的決策品質會提高，反之則會降低(Ariely, 2000; Wu & Lin, 2006)。而本研究的目的即在了解這兩種資訊控制度對決策品質的解釋何者才是正確的。因此我們在研究中使用了一個也會拿掉人認知資源的新變數-干擾。如果人在受干擾以及高控制度情況下仍能做出高品質的決策，那麼動機理論就可以被證明是正確的。相反的，若其決策品質降低，那麼認知資源理論就可以來解釋其降低是因為剩餘認知資源不足以拿來處理所蒐集到的資訊所致。而最後的實驗結果也證明資訊控制度對決策品質的影響要用認知資源理論來解釋才是正確的。

Information control is the freedom people equipped to determine the information content, display order, and processing time while they’re searching (Ariely, 2000). However in previous researches, high control could affect people’s decision quality in positive or negative outcome. From the perspective of motivation account, high control brings people responsibility to make correct decisions in order not regretting (Iyengar & Lepper, 2000). But according to cognitive resource theory, people’s decision quality may vary from the capacity of their cognitive resource. Therefore since the behavior of deciding information seeking content, display order, and processing time have taken some resource, then the rest part will affect decision quality. If the rest resource is sufficient to process the information sought, then people’s decision quality will arise (Ariely, 2000; Wu & Lin, 2006). And while the purpose of this research is to justify which of the two theory of control is correct, we implement a new variable which also taken people’s cognitive resource- distraction. If distracted people given high control still perform better than undistracted ones, then the motivation account will be supported. Otherwise the cognitive resource theory should be sustained. And in later analyses, we’ve proved that cognitive resource theory of information control is the correct explanation to the effect on people’s decision quality.