Effects of Different Payoff Matrices on Arithmetical Estimation Tasks: An Attempt to Produce “Rationality”

5 experiments were conducted in an attempt to produce a shift in the decision pattern in a forced-choice arithmetical estimation task. The expected shift was related to a change in the payoff matrix attached to the possible outcomes of the decision. The experiments varied in the amount of payoff, clarity of the explanation of the payoff matrix, difficulty of the task, feedback after decision and the length of decision time. None of these manipulations produced the expected rational shift. The role of payoff matrices in decisions in tasks involving skill is discussed.