On the Framing of Multiple Prospects
- 1 May 1992
- journal article
- Published by SAGE Publications in Psychological Science
- Vol. 3 (3) , 191-193
- https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.1992.tb00025.x
Abstract
We investigated decisions involving multiple independent uncertain prospects. At the extremes, a decision maker may either consider each prospect as a separate event (segregation) or evaluate the overall distribution of outcomes (aggregation). Contrary to choice by segregation, people sometimes reject a single gamble but accept a repeated play. On the other hand, people tend to choose by segregation when a particular gamble is singled out from a larger ensemble. Similarly, physicians make different choices when they evaluate problems on a case-by-case basis than when they consider the broader picture. Peoples' tendency to segregate multiple prospects represents a significant violation of the standard theory of rational choice.Keywords
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