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Mind

Speed of decision-making reflects our biases

Within a group of decision-makers, the longer it takes someone to make a choice, the less likely they are to be influenced by their inherent biases according to a mathematical model

By Karmela Padavic-Callaghan

10 July 2024

Voters cast ballots

The speed with which we reach a decision can reveal the strength of our biases

David Williams/Bloomberg via Getty Images

In a large group of independent decision-makers, those who reach a decision most quickly also tend to be those with the strongest initial biases. The finding comes from a mathematical model of decision-making that could be applied broadly across biology.

“Many decision-making models in economics assume that people make a decision based on one or two pieces of information, but I think these models have to be expanded,” says Krešimir Josić at the University of Houston in Texas.…

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