An Analysis on the Impact of Choice Overload to Consumer Decision Paralysis

As consumers make purchase decisions, they often encounter a large number of options from which they base their choices. Traditional theories such as the Rational Choice theory imply that the more options involved, the more beneficial for the consumer. However, recent studies suggest otherwise. One such study is that of Choice Overload, a phenomenon in which individuals encounter difficulty when they are presented with too many options. Some studies show that Choice Overload causes paralysis in analysis in different industries. Decision Paralysis is the abandonment of making a decision due to overanalysis. The paper focused on proving if Decision Paralysis would take place when there is Choice Overload by analyzing whether the different antecedents of Choice Overload, namely Decision Task Difficulty, Choice Set Complexity, Preference Uncertainty, Decision Goal, and Asymmetric Information, would be affected by the number of options available. A survey was used to measure the different variables, and the data were analyzed through logistic regression and ordinary least squares regression. The results of this study indicate that Decision Task Difficulty and Asymmetric Information directly impact Choice Overload, which then contributes to the high probability of the occurrence of Decision Paralysis. It is difficult for consumers to choose when more options are offered; thus, abandoning their purchasing decision.

Behavioral Contract Law

This article explores some behavioral findings that are relevant to three areas of contract: formation, performance, and remedies. I compare the rational choice theory analysis of various aspects of contract law with how behavioral findings lead to a change in our understanding of that area of law. A penultimate section considers several criticisms of behavioral economics. A concluding section calls for altering some settled understandings of contract law to accommodate behavioral results and for further research about some still uncertain aspects of contracting.

Traveler Attitudes Toward Biometric Data-Enabled Hotel Services: Can Risk Education Play a Role?

This study compares attitudes toward the use of biometrics data-enabled services in hotels of prospective travelers before and after receiving information about the risks and benefits of disclosing biometric data and about how the disclosed data are being utilized. This was done based on a sample of 579 U.S. respondents, using a split-plot scenario-based experimental design. The results revealed that the respondents did not show enthusiastic support for biometrics-based hotel services. Most sampled respondents did not view such services as highly desirable or as having a positive influence on their sense of well-being. Significant demographic differences were observed between prospective travelers. Females and older respondents in particular provided significantly lower ratings of biometric-enabled services on both desirability and effects on well-being. Significant changes in respondents’ ratings were also observed when information was given about the risks and benefits of disclosing biometric data and how the disclosed data were being utilized. That is, respondents’ ratings were lower when information was given about the risks and for scenarios where the data were utilized in ways that increased risk. Overall, these results are consistent with rational choice theory and demonstrate a strong risk-education effect or information-nudge effect on consumer acceptance of commercial use in hotels of artificial intelligence technology. The study outcomes also provide insight for developing potential guardrails and parameters for designing intelligent hospitality services.

Factors Affecting Tourism Destination: A Case Study in Ha Tien City, Vietnam

On the basis of theories of tourism, services, rational choice theory and previous empirical studies, the study proposes a research framework including 6 factors affecting tourists’ decisions when choosing Ha Tien as a destination to visit. The research sample was carried out by surveying by questionnaire with 100 tourists who visited Ha Tien City. Evaluation of the reliability of the scales shows that the destination information factor has not yet ensured the reliability of the scale. Regression analysis shows that there are 3 out of 6 independent factors that most influence tourists’ decision to choose when choosing Ha Tien as a tourist destination. In which, environmental and landscape factors have the most influence on tourists’ decision to choose Ha Tien as a destination. As a result, the article proposes some solutions to contribute to attracting more and more tourists to Ha Tien City.

Social background and school track choice: An analysis informed by the rational choice framework

We investigate social inequalities based on social background in the choice of the academic track among equally performing students, and how indicators derived from the rational choice framework contribute to account for such inequalities. We discuss the main theoretical concepts underpinning rational choice theory as applied to educational decisions: perceived costs, benefits, and risks of failure; relative risk aversion; and time-discounting preferences. In the empirical section, we use a unique dataset concerning the transition to different tracks in upper secondary school in a large Southern Italian region. By using various regression methods and the Karlson/Holm/Breen decomposition technique, we show that social inequalities in access to the academic track are considerable, even in recent cohorts, and that they are largely not explained by previous academic performance. Indicators linked to key concepts proposed by the rational choice theory—as measured in this study—account, as a whole, for 31% of the gap based on parental education, and for 40% of the gap based on parental occupation. The most important sources of inequalities among those this study examines are the expected benefits associated with the educational alternatives and the time-discounting preferences, while relative risk aversion and the perceived chances of success play negligible roles.

Upshots for Other Debates

This chapter explores and draws out the consequences of both the dualist view of rationality defended in Part I and the theory of structural rationality defended in Part II for a series of standing debates in (meta)ethics and epistemology—including debates about moral rationalism, rational choice theory, higher-order evidence, the normativity of logic, epistemic permissivism, and conditionalization. It also considers and criticizes some popular ways of trying to account for the existence and force of coherence requirements in the formally inclined philosophical literature—namely, Dutch book and money pump arguments and accuracy dominance arguments.

The Limits of Behavioral Economics in Tort Law

Skeptics of rational choice theory have long predicted that behavioral economics would radically transform the legislation, adjudication, and analysis of law. Using tort law as an exemplar, this Article maps out the narrow set of conditions where substantive law can be modified to accommodate irrational decision-makers. Specifically, this Article demonstrates that if injurers are systematically biased, and the due care standard can be expressed quantitatively, and victims are unable to take meaningful precautions, then imposing punitive damages can induce irrational injurers to exercise efficient precautionary care. In all other cases, it is better that the law adopt a presumption of rationality, regardless whether individuals behave rationally in fact.

The (in-) effectiveness of international law: A critical analysis of the rational choice theory in the light of the Ukrainian crisis 2014

<p>The aim of this research paper is to explore the role and content of the rational choice theory in international law and to critically analyse this theory in the light of the current Ukrainian crisis: Does the Ukrainian crisis 2014 prove rational choice theorists right? Can Russia’s military intervention in Crimea and the annexation of this region be seen as the failure of the UN Charter and therefore, as an evidence for the ineffectiveness of international law? Is international law effective at all? It will be argued that the rational choice theory cannot be seen as proven right in the light of the Ukrainian crisis 2014: Although, with regard to Russia’s unlawful military intervention in Crimea, the current crisis might at first glance be considered as validating the rational choice theory and the general ineffectiveness of international law, there is as well some evidence to be found in the actions and reactions of Russia and other nation-states and institutions from which one can deduce that international law does influence states’ behaviours, that states are not merely acting out of self-interest but also out of international legal obligations and that thus the current crisis may rather serve as an example of the (overall) effectiveness of international law.</p>

The (in-) effectiveness of international law: A critical analysis of the rational choice theory in the light of the Ukrainian crisis 2014

<p>The aim of this research paper is to explore the role and content of the rational choice theory in international law and to critically analyse this theory in the light of the current Ukrainian crisis: Does the Ukrainian crisis 2014 prove rational choice theorists right? Can Russia’s military intervention in Crimea and the annexation of this region be seen as the failure of the UN Charter and therefore, as an evidence for the ineffectiveness of international law? Is international law effective at all? It will be argued that the rational choice theory cannot be seen as proven right in the light of the Ukrainian crisis 2014: Although, with regard to Russia’s unlawful military intervention in Crimea, the current crisis might at first glance be considered as validating the rational choice theory and the general ineffectiveness of international law, there is as well some evidence to be found in the actions and reactions of Russia and other nation-states and institutions from which one can deduce that international law does influence states’ behaviours, that states are not merely acting out of self-interest but also out of international legal obligations and that thus the current crisis may rather serve as an example of the (overall) effectiveness of international law.</p>

Beyond Rationality

How and why do people make political decisions? This book is the first to present a unified framework of the Behavioral Political Science paradigm. – BPS presents a range of psychological approaches to understanding political decision-making. The integration of these approaches with Rational Choice Theory provides students with a comprehensible paradigm for understanding current political events around the world. Presented in nontechnical language and enlivened with a wealth of real-world examples, this is an ideal core text for a one-semester courses in political science, American government, political psychology, or political behavior. It can also supplement a course in international relations or public policy.