Self-choice preference: The propensity to under-delegate irrespective of sense of control

People are more likely to make choices themselves than delegate to an agent, even when it may not be the most optimal decision based on a cost-benefit analysis. Previous studies have demonstrated that retaining authority and controllability might be the primary reason for preferring self-choice. The...

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Main Authors:	Qian Wu, Yaji He, Yangmei Luo, Brent L. Hughes, Chengming Jiang, Xuhai Chen
Format:	Article
Language:	English
Published:	Elsevier 2021-03-01
Series:	Acta Psychologica
Subjects:	Self-choice preference Controllability Self-other decision Delegation
Online Access:	http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0001691821000123

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record_format	Article
spelling	doaj-1a46b2f2a96d4aa5ba82a3fbc3cf5f152021-03-18T04:30:50ZengElsevierActa Psychologica0001-69182021-03-01214103262Self-choice preference: The propensity to under-delegate irrespective of sense of controlQian Wu0Yaji He1Yangmei Luo2Brent L. Hughes3Chengming Jiang4Xuhai Chen5Key Laboratory of Behavior and Cognitive Psychology in Shaanxi Province, School of Psychology, Shaanxi Normal University, ChinaKey Laboratory of Behavior and Cognitive Psychology in Shaanxi Province, School of Psychology, Shaanxi Normal University, ChinaKey Laboratory of Behavior and Cognitive Psychology in Shaanxi Province, School of Psychology, Shaanxi Normal University, ChinaDepartment of Psychology, University of California, Riverside, United States of AmericaSchool of Management, Zhejiang University of Technology, ChinaKey Laboratory of Behavior and Cognitive Psychology in Shaanxi Province, School of Psychology, Shaanxi Normal University, China; Corresponding author: School of Psychology, Shaanxi Normal University, 199 South Chang'an Road, Xi'an 710062, China.People are more likely to make choices themselves than delegate to an agent, even when it may not be the most optimal decision based on a cost-benefit analysis. Previous studies have demonstrated that retaining authority and controllability might be the primary reason for preferring self-choice. The current study asks whether impairment of controllability associated with self-choice can increase the rate of delegation and whether there are self-other discrepancies in self-choice preference. In three studies, we directly manipulated participants' controllability associated with choice through literal instructions (experiment 1) and visual presentation (experiments 2 and 3). We found that participants showed a robust propensity to under-delegate even when they were aware of their impaired controllability associated with self-choice. Moreover, only 40% impairment of controllability (but not 20%) can decrease the propensity to under-delegate. This trend differed between decision-for-self and decision-for-other. These findings suggest that pursuing a sense of control cannot fully explain self-choice preference and appears to occur equally in decisions for oneself as well as for others.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0001691821000123Self-choice preferenceControllabilitySelf-other decisionDelegation
collection	DOAJ
language	English
format	Article
sources	DOAJ
author	Qian Wu Yaji He Yangmei Luo Brent L. Hughes Chengming Jiang Xuhai Chen
spellingShingle	Qian Wu Yaji He Yangmei Luo Brent L. Hughes Chengming Jiang Xuhai Chen Self-choice preference: The propensity to under-delegate irrespective of sense of control Acta Psychologica Self-choice preference Controllability Self-other decision Delegation
author_facet	Qian Wu Yaji He Yangmei Luo Brent L. Hughes Chengming Jiang Xuhai Chen
author_sort	Qian Wu
title	Self-choice preference: The propensity to under-delegate irrespective of sense of control
title_short	Self-choice preference: The propensity to under-delegate irrespective of sense of control
title_full	Self-choice preference: The propensity to under-delegate irrespective of sense of control
title_fullStr	Self-choice preference: The propensity to under-delegate irrespective of sense of control
title_full_unstemmed	Self-choice preference: The propensity to under-delegate irrespective of sense of control
title_sort	self-choice preference: the propensity to under-delegate irrespective of sense of control
publisher	Elsevier
series	Acta Psychologica
issn	0001-6918
publishDate	2021-03-01
description	People are more likely to make choices themselves than delegate to an agent, even when it may not be the most optimal decision based on a cost-benefit analysis. Previous studies have demonstrated that retaining authority and controllability might be the primary reason for preferring self-choice. The current study asks whether impairment of controllability associated with self-choice can increase the rate of delegation and whether there are self-other discrepancies in self-choice preference. In three studies, we directly manipulated participants' controllability associated with choice through literal instructions (experiment 1) and visual presentation (experiments 2 and 3). We found that participants showed a robust propensity to under-delegate even when they were aware of their impaired controllability associated with self-choice. Moreover, only 40% impairment of controllability (but not 20%) can decrease the propensity to under-delegate. This trend differed between decision-for-self and decision-for-other. These findings suggest that pursuing a sense of control cannot fully explain self-choice preference and appears to occur equally in decisions for oneself as well as for others.
topic	Self-choice preference Controllability Self-other decision Delegation
url	http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0001691821000123
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Self-choice preference: The propensity to under-delegate irrespective of sense of control

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