Use this link to access talk: https://bluejeans.com/452743038

Soyeon Choi

Title:
How much of the past do people value when making decisions?

Abstract:
Imagine you are the CEO of a company looking through resumes to hire a new person. On average, how much of a given applicant's past would you consider valuable to know when deciding whether to hire this person or not? Our decisions in life are often based on information we gather from the past, but individuals vary in how far they look back—otherwise known as “past depth”—when making decisions. We propose that the extent of past depth people prioritize depends on the harshness and unpredictability of their environment. Across two studies, we found that people who grew up in unpredictable environments looked less into the past when making various decisions. Interestingly, this effect was driven by people from resource-rich backgrounds. We discuss possible reasons for this pattern along with evidence for proximate mechanisms, including impulsivity and sense of control.