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decision making
You perform differently when the task requires effort.
The effort-accuracy trade-off shows that you adjust your cognitive effort based on how much accuracy you believe the task requires.
When you perceive a task as 'low stakes,' you automatically shift to lower-effort processing strategies. You rarely use your full cognitive capacity unless the environment forces you to do so.
You are a cognitive miser by default, not by choice.
Where this comes from
- Study
- Payne et al., 1988
- What the check found
- The seminal paper is Payne, J. W., Bettman, J. R., & Johnson, E. J. (1988), 'Adaptive Strategy Selection in Decision Making'. The claim accurately reflects the core thesis regarding the effort-accuracy trade-off.
- Confidence
- Well replicated
Related
One of these every day, and every one names the study it came from. When a finding is contested, it says so.