The Influence of Decision Aids on User Behavior: Implications for Knowledge Acquisition and Inappropriate Reliance

Structured decision aids are widely used in many organizational settings, and their influence on judgment consistency and accuracy have received considerable attention in the literature. While two benefits commonly associated with decision aid use are improved judgment and enhanced expertise development, relatively little attention has been directed toward the potential influence of decision aids on decision maker behavior. In particular, we argue that the use of structured aids may influence relatively inexperienced decision makers to approach aided tasks mechanistically, without becoming actively involved in the task or judgment. Such passive decision behavior may, in some situations, threaten gains in performance and other intended benefits associated with structured decision approaches. This study examines aided and unaided task execution to investigate whether use of an aid that does not require the active cognitive participation of the user in the task's underlying concepts can impede acquisition of task-related knowledge. This issue is important in organizational settings because on-the-job learning is a primary means through which inexperienced workers develop into seasoned workers. The study also considers whether use of a structured aid can encourage reliance although the decision maker is aware that the aid does not incorporate all relevant features of the task environment. This issue has implications for individual and organizational task-related judgment effectiveness.

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