Cognitive properties of approval voting. An experimental approach

• Authors: Krzysztof PRZYBYSZEWSKI , Monika RZESKA , Honorata SOSNOWSKA
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

The paper summarizes two series of experiments demonstrating the cognitive properties of approval voting. The former series is devoted to mental processes induced in decision makers who use the method of approval voting. Based on cognitive effort, the use of choice strategies is presented in this paper. The observations of respondents show that most of them use relatively effortless strategy of eliminating alternatives and attributes. Few respondents use more sophisticated methods. The other series of experiments analyses the number of alternatives chosen in approval voting. It appears that the average number is not constant, even for similar votes but it depends on the subject of voting. The number of chosen alternatives and the subjective significance of the scope of voting are negatively or positively correlated in the case of special votes. The analyzed experiments show that the cognitive properties of approval voting have a diverse structure.

Keywords

EN

experiments; approval voting; cognitive properties

• Publisher: Politechnika Wrocławska. Oficyna Wydawnicza Politechniki Wrocławskiej
• Journal: Operations Research and Decisions
• Year: 2011
• Volume: 21
• Issue: 3-4
• Pages: 20-31

Contributors

author

Krzysztof PRZYBYSZEWSKI

• Kozminski University, 03-301 Warsaw, ul. Jagiellońska 59, Poland

author

Monika RZESKA

• Warsaw School of Economics, 02-554 Warsaw, al. Niepodległości 162, Poland

author

Honorata SOSNOWSKA

• Warsaw School of Economics, 02-554 Warsaw, al. Niepodległości 162, Poland

References

• AGRESTI A., An Introduction to Categorical Data Analysis, Wiley, 2007, 34–38.
• Approval Voting Home Page, http://ben.boulder.co.us/goverment/approvalvote/center.html
• BRAMS S.J., FISBURN P.C., Approval Voting, Birkhäuser, Boston, 1982.
• FELSENTHAL D.S., On combining approval voting with disapproval voting, Behavioral Sciences, 1989, 34, 53–60.
• KOZIŃSKA M., SOSNOWSKA H., Varialibility of the average number of chosen alternatives in approval voting, Studia i Materiały Polskiego Stowarzyszenia Zarządzania Wiedzą, 2010, 31, 120–127 (in Polish).
• KOZIŃSKA M., SOSNOWSKA H., The average number of chosen alternatives in approval voting. Analysis of chosen experiments, Roczniki Kolegium Analiz Ekonomicznych, 2010, 22, 117–134 (in Polish).
• LASLIER J.F., VAN DER STRAETEN K., Une expérience de vote par assentiment lors de l’élection présidentielle de 2002, Revue Française de Science Politique, 2004, 54, 99–130.
• LASLIER J.F., VAN DER STRAETEN K., Alive experiment on approval voting, Experimental Economics, 2008, 11, 97–105.
• MALAWSKI M., PRZYBYSZEWSKI K., SOSNOWSKA H., Cognitive effort of voters under three different voting methods – an experimental study, Operations Resarch and Decisions, 2010, 3–4, 1–11.
• MONTGOMERY H., Decision rules and the search for a dominance structure: towards a process model of decision making, [in:] Analysing and Aiding Decision Processes, P. Humphreys, O. Svenson, A. Valdi (Eds.), North Holland, Amsterdam, 1983.
• NURMI H., Comparing Voting Systems, Reidel. Publ. Co., Dordrecht, 1987.
• NURMI H., On the Properties of Voting Systems, Scandinavian Political Studies, 2007, 4, 19–32.
• PAYNE J.W., BETTMANN J.R., JOHNSON E.J., The Adaptive Decision Maker, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1993.
• PRZYBYSZEWSKI K., SOSNOWSKA H., Approval voting – turnout and election preferences, [in:] Badania operacyjne i systemowe 2006. Metody i Techniki, J. Kacprzyk, R. Budziński (Eds.), Akademicka Oficyna Wydawnicza EXIT, Warszawa, 2006, 153–162.
• REISEN N., HOFFRAGE U., MUST F.W., Identifying decision strategies in a consumer choice situation, Judgement and Decision Making, 2008, 3, 641–658.
• SOMEREN VAN M.W., BARNARD Y.F., SANDBERG J.A.C., The think aloud method. A practical guide to modeling cognitive processes, Academic Press, London, 1994.
• SVENSON O., Differentiation and consolidation theory of human decision making: A frame of reference for the study of pre and post decision processes, Acta Psychologica, 1992, 80, 143–168.
• TVERSKY A., Elimination by aspects, Psychological Review, 1972, 79, 281–299.
• WRIGHT P., Consumer choice strategies. Simplifying vs. optimizing, Journal of Marketing Research, 1975, 12, 60–67.

Identifiers

DOI

10.5277/ord1203-0402