Das Oszillationsmodell des Abwägens

Abstract

The dissertation introduces an 'oscillation model of deliberation. Its goal is to analyze the time course of deliberating complex decision problems. These are such problems which outcomes are very important to people facing them, because often future related actions depend on these decisions and on the alternatives that were chosen. The model postulates three determinants and their interaction is said to be responsible for a decision tendency to show a pattern that can be compared to a sinus wave. Decision tendency describes the actual amount of being attracted to a certain alternative while deliberating about one of these important decision problems. If one wants to describe the main predictions of the model and the results of the studies that were conducted, one can say: the longer people think about the positive arguments which support choosing a certain alternative, the longer they think about the positivity of the other alternative afterwards. These findings are discussed within the framework of social psychological decision making research as well as within the domain of the present discussion about conscioussness.