Question 150·Hard·Command of Evidence
In a study of choice overload, psychologist Elena Choi asked participants to choose a snack from menus containing different numbers of options. After choosing, participants rated (1) how difficult the choice felt and (2) how much regret they anticipated feeling if they later learned more about the options they did not pick. Choi also reported a combined score, general decision strain, created from the two ratings. One implication of Choi’s reporting is that a combined score may not mirror each component across conditions, as in the case of this study, where general decision strain _____.
Using the bar graph "Decision Ratings by Menu Length," which choice most effectively completes the sentence?
For command-of-evidence questions tied to a graph, translate each option into specific, checkable comparisons and verify them systematically. When options describe a pattern across multiple categories (here, multiple menu lengths), check each category in turn and eliminate any option that gets even one comparison wrong.
Hints
Compare the same two bars each time
For each menu length (6, 12, 24, 36), compare general decision strain to anticipated regret.
Record higher vs. lower at each menu length
Make a quick list: at each menu length, is general decision strain higher than anticipated regret or lower than anticipated regret?
Match the full pattern
Pick the choice that matches your higher/lower results across all four menu lengths.
Step-by-step Explanation
Identify what the blank must describe
The blank should be completed with a claim about how general decision strain compares to anticipated regret across the different menu lengths (6, 12, 24, 36).
Compare at 6 choices
At 6 choices, general decision strain is 40 and anticipated regret is 45, so general decision strain is lower than anticipated regret.
Compare at 12, 24, and 36 choices
At 12 choices, general decision strain is 55 and anticipated regret is 52, so general decision strain is higher.
At 24 choices, general decision strain is 62 and anticipated regret is 50, so general decision strain is higher.
At 36 choices, general decision strain is 68 and anticipated regret is 55, so general decision strain is higher.
Choose the option that matches all comparisons
The only option matching “lower at 6, higher at 12/24/36” is: was lower than anticipated regret at 6 choices but higher than anticipated regret at 12, 24, and 36 choices.