Research Article
Effects of Working Memory Capacity and Cognitive Load on Decision Making and Rational-Experiential Information Processing
Abstract
Decision making is a situation that we encounter everyday. we come across theories supporting that we make decisions based on intuitions against the theories supporting that we make a decision by evaluating the possible results of the choices. Working memory has an important part in remembering the results of previous decisions and evaluating the consequences and studies are made to examine the relation between the two. Any load that limits working memory capacity effects decision making outcomes. The fact that there are two groups of theories that support rational or intuitive decision making has led to the investigation of relation between rational-experiential information processing and decision making. Yet studies investigate these relations separately. In the current study, the effect of cognitive load on information processing strategy and the way which it alters decision making is examined. Results show a significant relationship between working memory capacity and rational information processing, but no such relationship is found to be significant in relation to experiential processing as excepted. Cognitive load had a significant main effect on decision making and rationality but had no effect on experientiality. Results are discussed in accordance with relevant literature.
Keywords
Decision making Working memory capacity Rational-experiential information processing Cognivite load
References
- Baddeley A. (2003). Working memory: Looking back and looking forward. Neuroscience, 4, 829-839.
- Bagneux V., Thomassin, N., Gonthier, C. and Roulin, J. (2013). Working memory in the processing of the Iowa Gambling Task: an individual differences approach. PLoS One 8, no. 11, e81498.
- Bayindir M., Bolger, F., Say, B. (2017). An investigation of the role of some person and situation variables in multiple cue probability learning. The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 70(1), 36-52.
- Bechara A., Damasio, H., Tranel, D., Damasio, A.R. (1997). Deciding advantageously before knowing the advantageous strategy. Science, 275, 1293-1295.
- Buchanan L., O’connell, A. (2006). A brief history of decision making. Harvard Business Review, 84(1), 32.
- Courtney S. M., Ungerleider, L. G., Keil, K., Hxby, J. V. (1997). Transient and sustained activity in a distributed neural system for human working memory. Nature, 386(6625), 608-611.
- Czernatowicz-Kukuczka A., Jaśko, K., Kossowska, M. (2014). Need for closure and dealing with uncertainty in decision making context: The role of the behavioral inhibition system and working memory capacity. Personality and Individual Differences, 70, 126-130.
- Damasio A. R. (1994). Descartes’ error: Emotion, rationality and the human brain.
- Damasio A. R. (1998). The somatic marker hypothesis and the possible functions of prefrontal cortex. In A. C. Roberts, T. W. Robbins, & L.Weiskrantz (Eds.), The prefrontal cortex, New York: Oxford University Press., 36-50.
- Epstein S. (1994). Integration of the cognitive and the psychodynamic unconscious. American Psychologist, 49(8), 709.
- Epstein S., Pacini, R., Denes-Raj, V. Heier, H. (1996). Individual differences in intuitive–experiential and analytical–rational thinking styles. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 71(2), 390-405.
- Ester E. F., Ho, T. C., Brown, S. D., Serences, J. T. (2014). Variability in visual working memory ability limits the efficiency of perceptual decision making. Journal of Vision, 14, 1-12.
- Evans J. (2007). On the resolution of conflict in dual process theories of reasoning. Thinking & Reasoning, 13(4), 321-339.
- Evans J. (2008). Dual processing accounts of reasoning, judgment, and social cognition. Annual Review of Psychology, 59, 255–278.
- Fletcher J. M., Marks, A. D. G., Hine, D. W. (2011). Working memory capacity and cognitive styles in decision-making. Personality and Individual Differences, 50, 1136-1141.
- Furley P. A., Memmert, D. (2012). Working memory capacity as controlled attention in tactical decision making. Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, 34, 322-344.
- Hassin R. R. (2005). Non-conscious control and implicit working memory. In R. R. Hassin, J. S. Uleman, & J. A. Bargh (Eds.), The new unconscious, New York: Oxford University Press., 196-225.
- Hatfield-Eldred M. R., Skeel, R. L., Reilly, M. P. (2015). Is it random or impulsive responding? The effect of working memory load on decision making. Journal of Cognitive Psychology, 27, 27-36.
- Hinson J. M., Jameson, T. L., Whitney, P. (2002). Somatic markers, working memory, and decision making. Cognitive, Affective, & Behavioral Neuroscience, 2, 341–353.
- Hinson J. M., Jameson, T. L., Whitney, P. (2003). Impulsive decision making and working memory. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 29, 298-306.
- Jameson T. L., Hinson, J. M., Whitney, P. (2004). Components of working memory and somatic markers in decision making. Psychological Bulletin & Review, 11, 515–520.
- Jenkins A. C. (2019). Rethinking cognitive load: A default-mode network perspective. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 23(7), 531-533.
- Kahneman D., Frederick, S. (2002). Representativeness revisited: Attribute substitution in intuitive judgment. Heuristics and Biases: The Psychology Of İntuitive Judgment, 49, 81.
- Kahneman D., Frederick, S. (2005). A model of heuristic judgment. The Cambridge Handbook Of Thinking And Reasoning, 267, 293.
- Kahneman D., Tversky A. (1979). Prospect theory: An analysis of decision under risk. Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 47(2), 263-291.
- Manes F., Sahakian, B., Clark, L., Rogers, R., Antoun, N., Aitken, M., Robbins, T. (2002). Decision-making processes following damage to the prefrontal cortex. Brain, 125:3, 624–639.
- Miyake A., Friedman, N. P., Rettinger, D. A., Shah, P., Hegarty, M. (2001). How are visuospatial working memory, executive functioning, and spatial abilities related? A latent-variable analysis. Journal of experimental psychology: General, 130(4), 621.
- Miyake A., Shah, P. (1999). Toward unified theories of working memory: Emerging general consensus, unresolved theoretical issues, and future research directions. In A. Miyake & P. Shah (Eds.), Models of working memory: Mechanisms of active maintenance and executive control. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
- Pacini R., Epstein, S. (1999). The relation of rational and experiential information processing styles to personality, basic beliefs and the ratio-bias phenomennon. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 76, 972-987.
- Pecchinenda A., Dretsch, M., Chapman, P. (2006). Working memory involvement in emotion-based processes underlying choosing advantageously. Experimental Psychology, 3, 191-197.
- Simon H. A. (1979). Rational decision making in business organizations. The American Economic Review, 69(4), 493-513.
- Toplak M. E., Liu, E., Macpherson, R., Toneatto, T.,. Stanovich, K.E. (2007). The reasoning skills and thinking dispositions of problem gamblers: A dual-process taxonomy. Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, 20, 103-124.
- Toth J. A., C. Lewis, M. (1992). The role of working memory and external representation in decision-making. Cognitive Science, 11, 65–99.
- Turner, M. L., Engle, R. W. (1989). Is working memory capacity task dependent? Journal of Memory and Language, 28(2), 1989, 127-154.
- Türk, E. G., Artar, M. (2014). Adaptation of the Rational Experiential Inventory: Study of Reliability and Validity. Journal of Faculty of Educational Sciences, 47(1), 1-18.
- Unsworth N., Heitz, R. P., Schrock, J. C., Engle, R. W. (2005). An automated version of the operation span task. Behavior Research Methods, 37(3), 498-505.
- Whitney P., Rinehart, C. A., Hinson, J. M. (2008). Framing effects under cognitive load: The role of working memory in risky decisions. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 15(6), 1179-1184. Worthy D. A., A. Otto, R., Maddox, W. T. (2012). Working-memory load and temporal myopia in dynamic decision-making. Journal of Experimental Psychology, Learning, Memory and Cognition, 38(6), 1640-1658.
Çalışma Belleği Kapasitesi ve Bilişsel Yükün Mantıksal-Deneyimsel Bilgi İşlemleme ve Karar Verme Üzerindeki Etkisi
Abstract
Karar verme günlük hayatta her gün karşılaştığımız bir durumdur. Tercihlerin olası sonuçlarını değerlendirerek bilişsel hesaplamalar yaparak karar verdiğimizi savunan teorilere karşı sezgilere dayanarak karar verdiğimizi savunan teoriler alanda karşımıza çıkmaktadır. Önceki tercihlerin sonuçlarını hatırlamak ve olası sonuçları değerlendirmek için çalışma belleğinin karar verme sürecinde rol oynadığı düşünülmüş ve ikisi arasındaki ilişkiyi inceleyen çalışmalar yapılmıştır. Çalışma belleğini kısıtlayan herhangi bir bilişsel yük karar verme performansını etkiler. Mantıksal ya da sezgisel karar verdiğimizi savunan iki farklı grupta teorilerin olması karar vermenin mantıksal-deneyimsel bilgi işlemlemeyle olan ilişkisinin incelenmesine neden olmuştur. Ancak çalışmalar genellikle bu ilişkileri ayrı ayrı inceler. Bu çalışmada, bilişsel yükün bilgi işleme stratejisi üzerindeki etkisi ve karar vermeyi değiştirme biçimi incelenmiştir. Sonuçlar, çalışma belleği kapasitesi ile rasyonel bilgi işleme arasında anlamlı ilişki olduğunu göstermektedir, ancak deneyimsel işlemeyle ilgili olarak anlamlı bir ilişki bulunamamıştır. Bilişsel yükün karar verme ve rasyonellik üzerinde anlamlı bir temel etkisi vardır ancak deneyimsellik üzerinde anlamlı bir etkisi bulunamamıştır. Sonuçlar, ilgili literatür kapsamında yorumlanmıştır.
References
- Baddeley A. (2003). Working memory: Looking back and looking forward. Neuroscience, 4, 829-839.
- Bagneux V., Thomassin, N., Gonthier, C. and Roulin, J. (2013). Working memory in the processing of the Iowa Gambling Task: an individual differences approach. PLoS One 8, no. 11, e81498.
- Bayindir M., Bolger, F., Say, B. (2017). An investigation of the role of some person and situation variables in multiple cue probability learning. The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 70(1), 36-52.
- Bechara A., Damasio, H., Tranel, D., Damasio, A.R. (1997). Deciding advantageously before knowing the advantageous strategy. Science, 275, 1293-1295.
- Buchanan L., O’connell, A. (2006). A brief history of decision making. Harvard Business Review, 84(1), 32.
- Courtney S. M., Ungerleider, L. G., Keil, K., Hxby, J. V. (1997). Transient and sustained activity in a distributed neural system for human working memory. Nature, 386(6625), 608-611.
- Czernatowicz-Kukuczka A., Jaśko, K., Kossowska, M. (2014). Need for closure and dealing with uncertainty in decision making context: The role of the behavioral inhibition system and working memory capacity. Personality and Individual Differences, 70, 126-130.
- Damasio A. R. (1994). Descartes’ error: Emotion, rationality and the human brain.
- Damasio A. R. (1998). The somatic marker hypothesis and the possible functions of prefrontal cortex. In A. C. Roberts, T. W. Robbins, & L.Weiskrantz (Eds.), The prefrontal cortex, New York: Oxford University Press., 36-50.
- Epstein S. (1994). Integration of the cognitive and the psychodynamic unconscious. American Psychologist, 49(8), 709.
- Epstein S., Pacini, R., Denes-Raj, V. Heier, H. (1996). Individual differences in intuitive–experiential and analytical–rational thinking styles. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 71(2), 390-405.
- Ester E. F., Ho, T. C., Brown, S. D., Serences, J. T. (2014). Variability in visual working memory ability limits the efficiency of perceptual decision making. Journal of Vision, 14, 1-12.
- Evans J. (2007). On the resolution of conflict in dual process theories of reasoning. Thinking & Reasoning, 13(4), 321-339.
- Evans J. (2008). Dual processing accounts of reasoning, judgment, and social cognition. Annual Review of Psychology, 59, 255–278.
- Fletcher J. M., Marks, A. D. G., Hine, D. W. (2011). Working memory capacity and cognitive styles in decision-making. Personality and Individual Differences, 50, 1136-1141.
- Furley P. A., Memmert, D. (2012). Working memory capacity as controlled attention in tactical decision making. Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, 34, 322-344.
- Hassin R. R. (2005). Non-conscious control and implicit working memory. In R. R. Hassin, J. S. Uleman, & J. A. Bargh (Eds.), The new unconscious, New York: Oxford University Press., 196-225.
- Hatfield-Eldred M. R., Skeel, R. L., Reilly, M. P. (2015). Is it random or impulsive responding? The effect of working memory load on decision making. Journal of Cognitive Psychology, 27, 27-36.
- Hinson J. M., Jameson, T. L., Whitney, P. (2002). Somatic markers, working memory, and decision making. Cognitive, Affective, & Behavioral Neuroscience, 2, 341–353.
- Hinson J. M., Jameson, T. L., Whitney, P. (2003). Impulsive decision making and working memory. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 29, 298-306.
- Jameson T. L., Hinson, J. M., Whitney, P. (2004). Components of working memory and somatic markers in decision making. Psychological Bulletin & Review, 11, 515–520.
- Jenkins A. C. (2019). Rethinking cognitive load: A default-mode network perspective. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 23(7), 531-533.
- Kahneman D., Frederick, S. (2002). Representativeness revisited: Attribute substitution in intuitive judgment. Heuristics and Biases: The Psychology Of İntuitive Judgment, 49, 81.
- Kahneman D., Frederick, S. (2005). A model of heuristic judgment. The Cambridge Handbook Of Thinking And Reasoning, 267, 293.
- Kahneman D., Tversky A. (1979). Prospect theory: An analysis of decision under risk. Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 47(2), 263-291.
- Manes F., Sahakian, B., Clark, L., Rogers, R., Antoun, N., Aitken, M., Robbins, T. (2002). Decision-making processes following damage to the prefrontal cortex. Brain, 125:3, 624–639.
- Miyake A., Friedman, N. P., Rettinger, D. A., Shah, P., Hegarty, M. (2001). How are visuospatial working memory, executive functioning, and spatial abilities related? A latent-variable analysis. Journal of experimental psychology: General, 130(4), 621.
- Miyake A., Shah, P. (1999). Toward unified theories of working memory: Emerging general consensus, unresolved theoretical issues, and future research directions. In A. Miyake & P. Shah (Eds.), Models of working memory: Mechanisms of active maintenance and executive control. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
- Pacini R., Epstein, S. (1999). The relation of rational and experiential information processing styles to personality, basic beliefs and the ratio-bias phenomennon. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 76, 972-987.
- Pecchinenda A., Dretsch, M., Chapman, P. (2006). Working memory involvement in emotion-based processes underlying choosing advantageously. Experimental Psychology, 3, 191-197.
- Simon H. A. (1979). Rational decision making in business organizations. The American Economic Review, 69(4), 493-513.
- Toplak M. E., Liu, E., Macpherson, R., Toneatto, T.,. Stanovich, K.E. (2007). The reasoning skills and thinking dispositions of problem gamblers: A dual-process taxonomy. Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, 20, 103-124.
- Toth J. A., C. Lewis, M. (1992). The role of working memory and external representation in decision-making. Cognitive Science, 11, 65–99.
- Turner, M. L., Engle, R. W. (1989). Is working memory capacity task dependent? Journal of Memory and Language, 28(2), 1989, 127-154.
- Türk, E. G., Artar, M. (2014). Adaptation of the Rational Experiential Inventory: Study of Reliability and Validity. Journal of Faculty of Educational Sciences, 47(1), 1-18.
- Unsworth N., Heitz, R. P., Schrock, J. C., Engle, R. W. (2005). An automated version of the operation span task. Behavior Research Methods, 37(3), 498-505.
- Whitney P., Rinehart, C. A., Hinson, J. M. (2008). Framing effects under cognitive load: The role of working memory in risky decisions. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 15(6), 1179-1184. Worthy D. A., A. Otto, R., Maddox, W. T. (2012). Working-memory load and temporal myopia in dynamic decision-making. Journal of Experimental Psychology, Learning, Memory and Cognition, 38(6), 1640-1658.
There are 37 citations in total.
Details
| Primary Language | English |
|---|---|
| Subjects | Decision Making |
| Journal Section | Research Articles |
| Authors | |
| Early Pub Date | May 26, 2025 |
| Publication Date | May 31, 2025 |
| Submission Date | March 26, 2025 |
| Acceptance Date | May 16, 2025 |
| Published in Issue | Year 2025 Volume: 22 Issue: 3 |
