Aristotle's Anxiety: Choosing among Methods to Study Choice

Abstract

According to a thought experiment described by Aristotle, a person “who, though exceedingly hungry and thirsty, and both equally, yet being equidistant from food and drink, is therefore bound to stay where he is ” might consequently waste away for want of food and drink (Stocks 1922). The problem of choosing between two equally desirable options is analogous to the trade-off problem a decision maker faces when confronted with two equally attractive options. Choosing from such a choice set is difficult because choosing one option may involve giving up another attractive option, and the trade-off difficulty the decision maker experiences may result in conflict in his or her mind, which can generate negative affect. The introduction of a dominated alternative (the “decoy”) into such a choice set may mitigate the problem by allowing the decision maker

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