Decision-Making Experiment: Medical Decisions Part 4

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Country:
Age: You must be over 18 years to participate.
Are you Male or Female?
          Female
      OR
          Male

Education (in years).  
  If you are a college graduate, put 16.
  If you have a Ph.D., put 20.
Education:  Years.

This is a study of medical decision making. Your task is to read descriptions of hypothetical medical situations and make the best decisions that you can, given the information available. In all cases, imagine that you have a serious medical condition (such as cancer) and that you can choose between alternative types of treatments (e.g., surgery, chemotherapy, radiation). These different treatments have different chances of a complete cure and also different risks of side-effects and failures of treatment.

Your condition after the treatment is evaluated on a scale from 0 to 100. On this scale, 100% = a complete cure and 0% = a complete failure of the treatment. Numbers in between represent the scale of your medical condition after the treatment. For example:


100 = 100% (complete recovery with no remission of symptoms)
80 = 80% recovery, mild complications (occasional pain, slightly limited mobility)
20 = 20% severe complications (chronic pain, paralysis, severely reduced life expectancy)
0 = complete failure of treatment (death)

Assume that numbers between 0% and 100% represent your overall judgment of the percentage of success of the treatment. This number includes severity of harmful side effects.

Doctors have estimated the number of patients out of 100 like you who will have different degrees of success with the treatments. Your task is to make the best decisions you can, given the medical treatments offerred to you. For example, with Treatment A in the first choice below 50 out of every 100 patients are expected to have a complete cure, but the other 50 have a complete failure. Treatment B produces a 45% recovery in all patients. So, with treatment B, you are sure to live, but you are also expected to have side-effects and live a lower quality life with pain and limited mobility. Some people will choose treatment A and others will choose B.

1. Which do you choose?
          A: 50 patients to have a recovery of 100%
                50 patients to have a recovery of 0%
      OR
          B: All 100 patients to have a recovery of 45% 

2. Which do you choose?
          C: 50 patients to have a recovery of 100%
                50 patients to have a recovery of 0%
      OR
          D: All 100 patients to have a recovery of 65%
                
3. Which do you choose?
          E: All 100 patients to have a recovery of 50%
      OR
          F: 50 patients to have a recovery of 100%
                50 patients to have a recovery of 0%

4. Which do you choose?
          G: 50 patients to have a recovery of 98%
                50 patients to have a recovery of 10%
      OR
          H: 50 patients to have a recovery of 46%
                50 patients to have a recovery of 42%

5. Which do you choose?
          I: 20 patients to have a recovery of 50%
                80 patients to have a recovery of 0%
      OR
          J: 10 patients to have a recovery of 100%
                90 patients to have a recovery of 0%

6. Which do you choose?
          K: 10 patients to have a recovery of 100%
                45 patients to have a recovery of 98%
                45 patients to have a recovery of 10%
      OR
          L: 10 patients to have a recovery of 100%
                45 patients to have a recovery of 46%
                45 patients to have a recovery of 42%

7. Which do you choose?
          M: 80 patients to have a recovery of 100%
                10 patients to have a recovery of 50%
                10 patients to have a recovery of 50%
      OR
          N: 80 patients to have a recovery of 100%
                10 patients to have a recovery of 100%
                10 patients to have a recovery of 0%

8. Which do you choose?
          O: 10 patients to have a recovery of 98%
                10 patients to have a recovery of 10%
                80 patients to have a recovery of 0%
      OR
          P: 10 patients to have a recovery of 46%
                10 patients to have a recovery of 42%
                80 patients to have a recovery of 0%

9. Which do you choose?
          Q: 90 patients to have a recovery of 96%
                05 patients to have a recovery of 14%
                05 patients to have a recovery of 12%
      OR
          R: 85 patients to have a recovery of 96%
                05 patients to have a recovery of 90%
                10 patients to have a recovery of 12%

10. Which do you choose?
          S: 80 patients to have a recovery of 98%
                10 patients to have a recovery of 98%
                10 patients to have a recovery of 10%
      OR
          T: 80 patients to have a recovery of 98%
                10 patients to have a recovery of 46%
                10 patients to have a recovery of 42%

11. Which do you choose?
          U: 10 patients to have a recovery of 50%
                10 patients to have a recovery of 50%
                80 patients to have a recovery of 0%
      OR
          V: 10 patients to have a recovery of 100%
                10 patients to have a recovery of 0%
                80 patients to have a recovery of 0%

12. Which do you choose?
          W: 10 patients to have a recovery of 98%
                90 patients to have a recovery of 10%
      OR
          X: 20 patients to have a recovery of 46%
                80 patients to have a recovery of 10%

13. Which do you choose?
          Y: 85 patients to have a recovery of 96%
                05 patients to have a recovery of 96%
                05 patients to have a recovery of 14%
                05 patients to have a recovery of 12%
      OR
          Z: 85 patients to have a recovery of 96%
                05 patients to have a recovery of 90%
                05 patients to have a recovery of 12%
                05 patients to have a recovery of 12%

14. Which do you choose?
          a: 10 patients to have a recovery of 98%
                10 patients to have a recovery of 10%
                80 patients to have a recovery of 10%
      OR
          b: 10 patients to have a recovery of 46%
                10 patients to have a recovery of 42%
                80 patients to have a recovery of 10%

15. Which do you choose?
          c: 80 patients to have a recovery of 100%
                20 patients to have a recovery of 50%
      OR
          d: 90 patients to have a recovery of 100%
                10 patients to have a recovery of 0%

16. Which do you choose?
          e: 80 patients to have a recovery of 100%
                10 patients to have a recovery of 98%
                10 patients to have a recovery of 10%
      OR
          f: 80 patients to have a recovery of 100%
                10 patients to have a recovery of 46%
                10 patients to have a recovery of 42%

17. Which do you choose?
          g: 10 patients to have a recovery of 50%
                80 patients to have a recovery of 50%
                10 patients to have a recovery of 50%
      OR
          h: 10 patients to have a recovery of 100%
                80 patients to have a recovery of 50%
                10 patients to have a recovery of 0%

18. Which do you choose?
          i: 90 patients to have a recovery of 98%
                10 patients to have a recovery of 10%
      OR
          j: 80 patients to have a recovery of 98%
                20 patients to have a recovery of 42%

19. Which do you choose?
          k: All 100 patients to have a recovery of 50%
      OR
          l: 10 patients to have a recovery of 100%
                80 patients to have a recovery of 50%
                10 patients to have a recovery of 0%

20. Which do you choose?
          m: 45 patients to have a recovery of 98%
                45 patients to have a recovery of 10%
                10 patients to have a recovery of 0%
      OR
          n: 45 patients to have a recovery of 46%
                45 patients to have a recovery of 42%
                10 patients to have a recovery of 0%

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21. Have you ever read a scientific paper
(i.e., a journal article or book) on the theory of 
decision making or on the psychology of decision making?

          No. Never.            
      OR
          Yes, I have.

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