Cognitive Control Capabilities,

This paper examines the cognitive and behavioral foundations of decision-making at the individual level. It is based on a study conducted with 86 graduate students and a model that combines the highly mindful cognitive control capabilities and the less-mindful routinization propensity to explain decision-making performance. The paper offers three contributions. First, I introduce and empirically observe cognitive control capabilities, i.e. the supervisory cognitive mechanisms through which individuals monitor and control their own attention processes. Second, I introduce and operationalize the concept of routinization propensity. This is an individualdifference variable capturing the tendency to develop and enact a behavioral repertoire of standard solutions. Third, I propose and test a model in which routinization propensity mediates the impact of cognitive control capabilities on decision-making performance. I show that both high and low levels of mindfulness are essential to maximize performance in strategic decision-making. Counterintuitively, however, higher cognitive control capabilities are connected to higher levels of routinization propensity, which in turn enhance performance. These findings contribute to the development of an integrated theory of cognition, decision-making, and learning.