Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-cfpbc Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-18T14:40:24.650Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Query theory: Knowing what we want by arguing with ourselves

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 March 2011

Elke U. Weber
Affiliation:
Center for Decision Sciences, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027. euw2@columbia.eduejj3@columbia.edu
Eric J. Johnson
Affiliation:
Center for Decision Sciences, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027. euw2@columbia.eduejj3@columbia.edu

Abstract

Mercier and Sperber (M&S) argue that reasoning is social and argumentative, and that this explains many apparently irrational judgment phenomena. We look at the relationship between interpersonal and intrapersonal argumentation and discuss parallels and differences from the perspective of query theory, a memory-based model of constructive preferences. We suggest an important goal is to integrate models across inference and preference.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2011

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Becker, G. & Stigler, G. J. (1977) De gustibus non est disputandum. American Economic Review 67:7690.Google Scholar
Dijksterhuis, A., Bos, M. W., Nordgren, L. F. & van Baaren, R. B. (2006a) Complex choices better made unconsciously? Science 313:760–61.Google Scholar
Franklin, B. (1817/2006) The autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. NuVision. (Original work published 1817.).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hardisty, D. H., Johnson, E. J. & Weber, E. U. (2010) A dirty word or a dirty world? Attribute framing, political affiliation, and query theory. Psychological Science 21:8692.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Johnson, E. J. & Goldstein, D. G. (2003) Do defaults save lives? Science 302:1338–39.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Johnson, E. J., Haubl, G. & Keinan, A. (2007) Aspects of endowment: A query theory of value construction. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition 33:461–73.Google ScholarPubMed
Smith, J. A., Weber, E. U., Appelt, K. C. & Milch, K. F. (2009) Querying the group mind: Applying query theory to group discussions. Poster presented at the Annual Meeting of the Society for Judgment and Decision Making, Boston.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weber, E. U. & Johnson, E. J. (2006) Constructing preferences from memory. In: The construction of preference, ed. Lichtenstein, S. & Slovic, P., pp. 397410. Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weber, E. U. & Johnson, E. J. (2009) Mindful judgment and decision making. Annual Review of Psychology 60:5386.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Weber, E. U., Johnson, E. J., Milch, K. F., Chang, H., Brodscholl, J. & Goldstein, D. G. (2007) Asymmetric discounting in intertemporal choice: A query theory account. Psychological Science 18(6):516–23.CrossRefGoogle Scholar