University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

The User's Dilemma and Risky Decision-Making on Electronic Bulletin Boards

Wittmer, Jerry M.

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/72111

Description

Title
The User's Dilemma and Risky Decision-Making on Electronic Bulletin Boards
Author(s)
Wittmer, Jerry M.
Issue Date
1992
Doctoral Committee Chair(s)
Sniezek, Janet A.
Department of Study
Psychology
Discipline
Psychology
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
  • Psychology, Social
  • Psychology, Industrial
Abstract
  • In a laboratory experiment, the User's Dilemma created by competing Effort and Prospects Reward Systems is used to explain users' decisions to disseminate or withhold information on an electronic bulletin board. Those facing the User's Dilemma were simultaneously confronted with a positive certain outcome and a negative probabilistic outcome; they chose to withhold information and forgo the positive outcome to avoid the negative outcome. The group presented with the User's Dilemma was the best calibrated of three groups on perceptions of production. When compared to the group without effort rewards, the Dilemma group produced more, but had lower perceptions of production. The organizational implications of the presence of the User's Dilemma, accurate user calibration, and user control over outcomes are discussed.
  • In line with prospect theory, users violated expected utility by being risk seeking in the negative condition and risk avoiding in the positive condition. Users isolated and canceled the first stage of a two-stage decision-making process and focused on a pseudocertain gamble in the second stage. Implications of risk seeking behavior and pseudocertain choice on electronic bulletin boards are discussed.
Graduation Semester
1992
Type of Resource
text
Permalink
http://hdl.handle.net/2142/72111

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