Continuous Measures of Decision-Difficulty Captured Remotely: I. Mouse-tracking sensitivity extends to tablets and smartphones

Abstract

AbstractAs decisions require actions to have an effect on the world, measures derived from movements such as using a mouse to control a cursor on a screen provide powerful and dynamic indices of decision-making. In this first of a set of two studies, we replicated classic reach-decision paradigms across computers, tablets, and smartphones, we show that portable touch-devices can sensitively capture decision-difficulty. We see this in pre- and during-movement temporal and motoric measures across diverse decision domains. We found touchscreen interactions to more sensitively reflect decision-difficulty during movement compared to computer interactions, and the latter to be more sensitive before movement initiation. Paired with additional evidence for the flexibility and unique utility of pre- and during-movement measures, this substantiates the use of widely available touch-devices to massively extend the reach of decision science. We build upon this in the second study in this series (Bertrand et al., 2023) with the use of webcam eye-tracking to further elucidate, earlier in time, the decision process. This subsequent work provides additional support for tools that enable remote collection of rich decision data in ecologically-valid environments.