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The Beguiling Pursuit of More Information

Author

Listed:
  • Donald A. Redelmeier

    (Department of Medicine, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Clinical Epidemiology and Trauma Programs, Sunnybrook and Women’s College Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada)

  • Eldar Shafir

    (Department of Psychology and the Woodrow Wilson School of Public Affairs, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey)

  • Prince S. Aujla

    (Department of Medicine, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada)

Abstract

Background. The authors tested whether clinicians make different decisions if they pursue information than if they receive the same information from the start. Methods. Three groups of clinicians participated (N = 1206): dialysis nurses (n = 171), practicing urologists (n = 461), and academic physicians (n = 574). Surveys were sent to each group containing medical scenarios formulated in 1 of 2 versions. The simple version of each scenario presented a choice between 2 options. The search version presented the same choice but only after some information had been missing and subsequently obtained. The 2 versions otherwise contained identical data and were randomly assigned. Results. In one scenario involving a personal choice about kidney donation, more dialysis nurses were willing to donate when they first decided to be tested for compatibility and were found suitable than when they knew they were suitable from the start (65% vs. 44% , P =0.007). Similar discrepancies were found in decisions made by practicing urologists concerning surgery for a patient with prostate cancer and in decisions of academic physicians considering emergency management for a patient with acute chest pain. Conclusions. The pursuit of information can increase its salience and cause clinicians to assign more importance to the information than if the same information was immediately available. An awareness of this cognitive bias may lead to improved decision making in difficult medical situations.

Suggested Citation

  • Donald A. Redelmeier & Eldar Shafir & Prince S. Aujla, 2001. "The Beguiling Pursuit of More Information," Medical Decision Making, , vol. 21(5), pages 376-381, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:medema:v:21:y:2001:i:5:p:376-381
    DOI: 10.1177/0272989X0102100504
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Baron, Jonathan & Beattie, Jane & Hershey, John C., 1988. "Heuristics and biases in diagnostic reasoning : II. Congruence, information, and certainty," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 42(1), pages 88-110, August.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Eliaz, Kfir & Schotter, Andrew, 2010. "Paying for confidence: An experimental study of the demand for non-instrumental information," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 70(2), pages 304-324, November.
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    5. Dai, Xianchi & Fishbach, Ayelet, 2013. "When waiting to choose increases patience," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 121(2), pages 256-266.
    6. Eldar Shafir, 2003. "Context, conflict, weights, and identities: some psychological aspects of decision making," Conference Series ; [Proceedings], Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, vol. 48(Jun).
    7. Jörn Sebastian Basel & Rolf Brühl, 2016. "Choice reversal in management decisions: the seductive force of new information," Journal of Business Economics, Springer, vol. 86(4), pages 343-359, May.
    8. Donald A. Redelmeier & Eldar Shafir, 2023. "The Fallacy of a Single Diagnosis," Medical Decision Making, , vol. 43(2), pages 183-190, February.

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