Valuation and estimation from experience

The processing of sequentially presented numerical information is a prerequisite for decisions from experience, where people learn about potential outcomes and their associated probabilities then make choices between gambles. Little known, however, how people's preference choosing gamble affected by they perceive process information. To address this, we conducted series experiments wherein participants repeatedly sampled numbers continuous outcome distributions. They were incentivized either to estimate the means or state minimum selling prices forgo consequential draw distributions (i.e., certainty equivalents valuations). We found that valued below means, high-variance sequences lower than low-variance sequences, left-skewed right-skewed sequences. Though less pronounced, similar patterns occurred in mean estimation task preferences should not play role. These results are consistent with prior findings decision experience such as overweighting high underweighting rare events. Rather, qualitative effects, well similarity effects valuation estimation, assumption on compressed mental number line valuations experience.