Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Rationality In Medical Treatment Decisions: Is There A Sunk-Cost Effect?, Brian H. Bornstein, Christine Emler, Gretchen B. Chapman

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Objective: To assess residents’ propensity to display the sunk-cost effect, an irrational decision-making bias, in medical treatment decisions; and to compare residents’ and undergraduates’ susceptibility to the bias in non-medical, everyday behaviors.
Design: Cross-sectional, in-person survey.
Setting: Louisiana State University, two locations: Medical Center-Baton Rouge and Main Campus–Psychology Department.
Participants: Internal medicine and family practice residents (N = 36, Mdn age = 27) and college undergraduates (N = 40, Mdn age = 20).
Measurements and main results: Residents evaluated medical and non-medical situations that varied the amount of previous investment and whether the present decision maker was the …