Presentation Details
| Social information does not rescue individuals from choice overload Todd Freeberg1, Jessie Tanner1, Claire Hemingway1, 2. 1University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA.2Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa Panama |
Abstract
When humans choose from too many options, we can experience choice overload, a phenomenon in which individuals often make sub-optimal decisions. Decisions made under choice overload include changes in option selection and longer decision latencies. Social information often improves decision-making under uncertainty, particularly in gregarious species. Here, we tested whether social information buffers individuals against choice overload using Argentinian wood cockroaches (Blaptica dubia). We manipulated social conditions both prior to and during behavioral testing and presented individuals with sets of 2, 4, and 8 shelters that differed in light levels. Individuals showed evidence of choice overload, spending less time under their preferred, darker shelters as the number of options increased. Individuals were less likely to choose the darker shelter first and switched shelters more as the number of options increased. Crucially, we found minimal effects of testing in groups. Despite cockroaches’ gregariousness and use of social cues when selecting shelters, social information did not mitigate the cognitive costs of larger choice sets here.
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No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author.
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