Introduction

Throughout this book we have described studies carried out using the Mouselab system for monitoring information processing. This appendix provides additional detail about the properties of that system.

The two process-tracing methods of greatest interest to decision researchers have been verbal protocol analysis and the analysis of information acquisition behavior. (See J. Ford et al., 1989, for a recent summary of process-tracing studies of judgment and choice.) The Mouselab system focuses on monitoring information acquisition behaviors, such as what information the subject seeks, the sequence of acquisition, how much information is acquired, and for what duration information is examined. Such data on information acquisitions are important for several reasons. First, the evaluation strategies that have been proposed in the decision literature imply certain patterns of search (Payne, 1976). Second, studying information acquisition can yield insight into the role of attention and memory in decision making (Einhorn & Hogarth, 1981). Finally, understanding the amount, types, and pattern of information acquisition is important in the design of decision aids.

If one wants to monitor information acquisition, what is the best technique to use? At one extreme are simple information board procedures. For example, in Payne (1976) the information board consisted of a matrix of envelopes attached to a sheet of cardboard. To obtain the value on a particular dimension for a particular alternative, the subject had to pull a card out of the appropriate envelope, turn it around, read the card, and place it back into the envelope.