The effects of time pressure on human judgement and decision making

Abstract

Time is a critical resource in human judgement and decision making. Without sufficient time many activities assumed to underpin good judgement and choice cannot be executed. The present chapter considers how people adapt when time is in short supply, or what we shall refer to as time pressured situations. Recent research indicates that time pressure is a very common feature of professional and personal decision situations (Maule et al., in preparation) and that complaints of insufficient time are the most frequently reported of the everyday minor stressors or hassles by all except the elderly (Chamberlain and Zika, 1990). The primary aim of the present chapter is to review research on the effects of time pressure on the judgement and decision making of individuals in static decision situations (i.e., situations involving a single decision where relevant information is available at the point of choice). Kerstholt and Raaijmakers (Chapter 12) have reviewed decision making in dynamic task environments (i.e., situations involving several decisions taken in the context of a continuously changing environment), so this area will be excluded from the present chapter. Modes of adapting to time constraints are also known to vary systematically across different individuals (e.g., Kaplan et al., 1993; Stiensmeier-Pelster and Schurmann, 1993), and affect decision making in groups (e.g., Janis, 1982), negotiations (Carnevale et al., 1993) and organisations (Bronner, 1972), but these also lie outside the scope of the present chapter.

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