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Using a computer mouse model, Yale University scientists deciphered how we make decisions.
When presenting choices on a computer screen, the way subjects move the mouse when making their choice can show how conflicting people are in making a decision. It also predicts their underlying preferences and future decisions.
Senior author Melissa Ferguson, a professor of psychology at Yale reported, “In theory, the information contained in the mouse movements can not only predict what people will buy, but potentially answer other questions from society, such as whether they will wear a mask in public during the pandemic or who they will vote for.”
For the study, the scientists recorded the mouse movements made by about 650 subjects. Direct mouse movement before clicking on their choice offered a measure of their degree of conflict. For example, even when a person ultimately decided on a risky choice, if the mouse movements moved to the safe option along the way, they predicted that the subject might be risk averse.
Surely, these subjects who indicated that type of drifting movement chose safe choices in subsequent tests. Alternatively, those whose mouse developments made a direct shift to the less safe bet were expected to take more risks in future tests.
Ferguson said, “If asked in a survey, people could say that during Thanksgiving, they would limit family gatherings to a few people due to the pandemic. However, if you present them with different options on a computer screen about the size of family reunions during the holidays and follow the mouse, you might see that they really have different plans. “
“By measuring the movements of the computer mouse as people decide, we can better understand if they will follow or do something completely different.”
The findings were published November 23 in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
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