Do we make decisions for other people based on our predictions of their preferences? evidence from financial and medical scenarios involving risk

Batteux, Eleonore; Ferguson, Eamonn; Tunney, Richard J.

doi:10.1080/13546783.2019.1592779

Cited by 10 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 51 publications

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“…Contrary to our expectations, we did not find that any of our measures related to mortality had an effect on participants’ propensity to accept life-saving treatment, neither for themselves nor for their partner. This is consistent with Batteux et al, 13 who found that surrogates reported similar wishes and decision processes despite large variabilities in their propensity to accept life-saving treatment. More research is therefore needed to understand this variability.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

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On the Likelihood of Surrogates Conforming to the Substituted Judgment Standard When Making End-of-Life Decisions for Their Partner

2019

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A considerable proportion of end-of-life decisions are made by the patient’s next-of-kin, who can be asked to follow the substituted judgment standard and decide based on the patient’s wishes. The question of whether these surrogate decision makers are actually able to do so has become an important issue. In this study, we examined how the likelihood of surrogates conforming to the substituted judgment standard varies with individual differences in mortality acceptance and confidence in their decision making. We recruited 153 participants in romantic relationships between 18 and 80 years old from the general population. We asked them to make hypothetical end-of-life decisions for themselves and on behalf of their partner, as well as predict what their partner would do, and complete a series of questionnaires. Participants predicted that their partner would make similar decisions to their own but were more likely to accept a life-saving treatment that could result in reduced quality of life on their partner’s behalf than for themselves. Decisions made by older adults were more likely to conform to the substituted judgment standard, which is encouraging given that they are more likely to be confronted with these decisions in real life, although this was not due to differences in mortality acceptance. Older adults were also more likely to have had previous discussions with their partner and thereby know that person’s wishes and feel confident that they made the right decision, but these factors did not affect their likelihood of conforming to the substituted judgment standard. This shows that encouraging discussions about end of life among families would ease the decision process, but more work is needed to ensure that surrogates can adhere to the substituted judgment standard.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

“…11,12 On the other hand, in a within-subjects design, we found that surrogate predictions were significant predictors of surrogate choices, independently of the decision maker’s own choices. 13 This suggests that surrogates do not simply disregard the recipient’s preferences but are influenced by other factors.…”

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confidence: 99%

On the Likelihood of Surrogates Conforming to the Substituted Judgment Standard When Making End-of-Life Decisions for Their Partner

2019

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“…This is also supported by findings in the medical domain, where people accept less risk for others (Batteux, Ferguson, & Tunney, 2019a;Polman & Wu, 2020). These show that, for others, people are more likely to choose a treatment to avoid a painful or deadly illness (Batteux, Ferguson, & Tunney, 2019c;Garcia-Retamero & Galesic, 2012), while also more likely to refuse a treatment involving a risk of death (Batteux, Ferguson, & Tunney, 2019b).…”

supporting

confidence: 63%

“…Our second aim was to test whether the cautious shift account applies to significant financial decisions, as in medical decisions (Batteux et al, 2019b). This does not seem to be the case.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Do We Become More Cautious for Others When Large Amounts of Money Are at Stake?

Batteux

Ferguson

Tunney

2021

Experimental Psychology

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Abstract. A considerable proportion of financial decisions are made by agents acting on behalf of other people. Although people are more cautious for others when making medical decisions, this does not seem to be the case for economic decisions. However, studies with large amounts of money are particularly absent from the literature, which precludes a clear comparison to studies in the medical domain. To address this gap, we investigated the effect of outcome magnitude in two experiments where participants made choices between safe and risky options. Decision-makers were not more cautious for others over large amounts. In fact, risk-taking was accentuated for large amounts in the gain domain. We did not find self-other differences in the loss domain for either outcome magnitude. This suggests that the caution observed in medical decisions does not replicate in financial decisions with large amounts, or at least not in the same way. These results echo the concerns that have been raised about excessive risk-taking by financial agents.

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“…Interestingly, discrepancies have been found between surrogate choices and predictions. Surrogates avoid a risk of death for someone else more than themselves, despite predicting that they have similar preferences [22][23][24]. This suggests that surrogates override the recipient's preferences to make a more cautious decision on their behalf which preserves their chances of living.…”

Section: How Do Surrogates Make Decisions?mentioning

confidence: 99%

A mixed methods investigation of end-of-life surrogate decisions among older adults

2020

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Background: A large number of end-of-life decisions are made by a next-of-kin for a patient who has lost their decision-making capacity. This has given rise to investigations into how surrogates make these decisions. The experimental perspective has focused on examining how the decisions we make for others differ from our own, whereas the qualitative perspective has explored surrogate insights into making these decisions. Methods: We conducted a mixed methods study to bring these two perspectives together. This is crucial to comparing decision outcomes to the decision process. We asked older adult partners to make end-of-life decisions for each other. They then took part in a semi-structured interview about their decision process. Transcripts were analysed using thematic analysis. Results: 24 participants took part in the study. Surrogates were more likely to take a life-saving treatment at the risk of a diminished quality of life for their partner than for themselves. This was consistent with their transcripts which showed that they wanted to give their partner a better chance of living. Although there was evidence of surrogate inaccuracy in the decision task, participants overwhelmingly reported their intention to make a decision which aligns with the substituted judgment standard. However, uncertainty about their wishes pushed them to consider other factors. Conclusions: Taking a mixed methods approach allowed us to make novel comparisons between decision outcome and process. We found that the intentions of surrogates broadly align with the expectations of the substituted judgment standard and that previous discussions with their partner helps them to make a decision.

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Do we make decisions for other people based on our predictions of their preferences? evidence from financial and medical scenarios involving risk

Cited by 10 publications

References 51 publications

On the Likelihood of Surrogates Conforming to the Substituted Judgment Standard When Making End-of-Life Decisions for Their Partner

On the Likelihood of Surrogates Conforming to the Substituted Judgment Standard When Making End-of-Life Decisions for Their Partner

Do We Become More Cautious for Others When Large Amounts of Money Are at Stake?

A mixed methods investigation of end-of-life surrogate decisions among older adults

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