PAST STUDIES OF PREDECISION BEHAVIOR HAVE DEMONSTRATED LARGE INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN THE AMOUNT OF INFORMATION AND LENGTH OF TIME PERSONS TAKE BEFORE REACHING A DECISION, AND IN THE AMOUNT OF UNCERTAINTY EXPRESSED REGARDING THE FINAL DECISION. THESE DIFFERENCES HAVE BEEN SHOWN TO BE RELATED TO DIFFERENCES IN THE COMPLEXITY OF DECISION MAKERS' CONCEPTUAL STRUCTURE. 2 SETS OF PROCESS VARIABLES WERE POSTULATED TO UNDERLIE THESE INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES: DIFFERENCES IN THE NUMBER AND THE DISTRIBUTION OF RESPONSE STRENGTHS OF THE DECISION ALTERNATIVES (HENCE DIFFERENCES IN RESPONSE UNCERTAINTY), AND DIFFERENCES IN TENDENCY TO DIFFERENTIATE AND ENCODE INFORMATION INHERENT IN A DECISION PROBLEM AND TO PRODUCE CONTROLLED ASSOCIATIONS TO THIS INFORMATION. THE FINDINGS WERE GENERALLY IN ACCORD WITH THE PREDICTIONS ADVANCED, BUT CONSISTENTLY FAVORED THE DIFFERENTIATION, ENCODING, AND CONTROLLED ASSOCIATION PROCESSES AS THE VARIABLES ALONG WHICH DECISION MAKERS VARY MOST MARKEDLY. (22 REF.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved)