Protocol for measuring context-dependent cost-benefit decision-making in humans using a web application

TL;DR

This paper introduces a web-based protocol to measure how people make decisions in different contexts, such as moral or social situations, using eye tracking and heart rate monitoring.

Contribution

The protocol introduces a standardized, web-based method for measuring context-dependent decision-making across multiple domains.

Findings

The protocol includes setup for eye tracking and heart rate monitoring during decision-making tasks.

Participants evaluate cost-reward pairings in four contexts: approach-avoid, moral, social, and probabilistic.

Abstract

We present a protocol for measuring naturalistic and normalized decision-making in humans across four contexts (approach-avoid, moral, social, and probabilistic) using a web application. We describe steps for session setup, eye tracker calibration, and heart rate monitoring. In each session, a participant encounters a story, rates rewards and costs relevant within that context, and then evaluates various cost-reward pairings in context.

For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Rakocevic et al.1

•Procedures for deploying a context-dependent decision-making web application•Steps for extension to new scenarios and types of decision-making•Instructions for tracking eye movement and heart rate for each choice•Database setup instructions for automatic uploading of participant responses

Procedures for deploying a context-dependent decision-making web application

Steps for extension to new scenarios and types of decision-making

Instructions for tracking eye movement and heart rate for each choice

Database setup instructions for automatic uploading of participant responses

Publisher’s note: Undertaking any experimental protocol requires adherence to local institutional guidelines for laboratory safety and ethics.

We present a protocol for measuring naturalistic and normalized decision-making in humans across four contexts (approach-avoid, moral, social, and probabilistic) using a web application. We describe steps for session setup, eye tracker calibration, and heart rate monitoring. In each session, a participant encounters a story, rates rewards and costs relevant within that context, and then evaluates various cost-reward pairings in context.

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