A self-regulatory approach to rational decisions: The implemental mindset optimizes economic decision making in situations requiring belief updating

Abstract

We examined the effects of the deliberative and implemental mindset on decision behavior when decisions require Bayesian updating of beliefs. In the decision task, in some situations Bayes' rule conflicts with a simple reinforcement-based heuristic. Previous research showed that in these situations individuals rely on the faulty heuristic, hence committing many decision errors. We investigated deliberative and implemental mindset effects on the reinforcement heuristic. Results showed that the implemental mindset improved rational decision making. Participants in an implemental mindset exhibited decreased rates of reinforcement errors compared to the deliberative mindset, the neutral mindset, and the baseline condition. We further found that, compared to the deliberative mindset, the implemental mindset was also more beneficial for decision performance in situations where Bayes' rule and reinforcement were aligned.