Title: Decision heuristic or preference? Attribute non-attendance in discrete choice problems
Abstract: Health EconomicsVolume 27, Issue 1 p. 157-171 RESEARCH ARTICLE Decision heuristic or preference? Attribute non-attendance in discrete choice problems Sebastian Heidenreich, Corresponding Author Sebastian Heidenreich [email protected] orcid.org/0000-0002-1909-5770 Health Economics Research Unit, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK Correspondence Sebastian Heidenreich, Health Economics Research Unit, University of Aberdeen, Polwarth Building, Foresterhill, Aberdeen AB25 2ZD, UK. Email: [email protected] for more papers by this authorVerity Watson, Verity Watson Health Economics Research Unit, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UKSearch for more papers by this authorMandy Ryan, Mandy Ryan Health Economics Research Unit, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UKSearch for more papers by this authorEuan Phimister, Euan Phimister Business School, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UKSearch for more papers by this author Sebastian Heidenreich, Corresponding Author Sebastian Heidenreich [email protected] orcid.org/0000-0002-1909-5770 Health Economics Research Unit, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK Correspondence Sebastian Heidenreich, Health Economics Research Unit, University of Aberdeen, Polwarth Building, Foresterhill, Aberdeen AB25 2ZD, UK. Email: [email protected] for more papers by this authorVerity Watson, Verity Watson Health Economics Research Unit, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UKSearch for more papers by this authorMandy Ryan, Mandy Ryan Health Economics Research Unit, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UKSearch for more papers by this authorEuan Phimister, Euan Phimister Business School, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UKSearch for more papers by this author First published: 16 June 2017 https://doi.org/10.1002/hec.3524Citations: 26Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat Abstract This paper investigates if respondents' choice to not consider all characteristics of a multiattribute health service may represent preferences. Over the last decade, an increasing number of studies account for attribute non-attendance (ANA) when using discrete choice experiments to elicit individuals' preferences. Most studies assume such behaviour is a heuristic and therefore uninformative. This assumption may result in misleading welfare estimates if ANA reflects preferences. This is the first paper to assess if ANA is a heuristic or genuine preference without relying on respondents' self-stated motivation and the first study to explore this question within a health context. Based on findings from cognitive psychology, we expect that familiar respondents are less likely to use a decision heuristic to simplify choices than unfamiliar respondents. We employ a latent class model of discrete choice experiment data concerned with National Health Service managers' preferences for support services that assist with performance concerns. We present quantitative and qualitative evidence that in our study ANA mostly represents preferences. We also show that wrong assumptions about ANA result in inadequate welfare measures that can result in suboptimal policy advice. Future research should proceed with caution when assuming that ANA is a heuristic. Citing Literature Supporting Information Filename Description hec3524-sup-0001-online_supplementary_information.pdfPDF document, 149.6 KB Table 1 ANA strategies of two attributes Table 2 min |Δc|, max |Δc|, mean |Δc|, median |Δc| of the 100 estimates for empty classes Figure 1 Histogram of the overall absolute mean error Appendix: Overview of all possible ANA strategies a Please note: The publisher is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting information supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing content) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article. Volume27, Issue1January 2018Pages 157-171 RelatedInformation