SUBMITTING TO AUTHORITY - ITS EFFECT ON DECISION-MAKING

Decision-makers often make choices in situations where an authority (e .g., a parent, a boss, a tradition) has prescribed a choice. Submittin g to an authority's prescription is advantageous in that any decision costs associated with comparing alternative choices can be avoided. Ho wever, the authority's prescription may be far from optimal, meaning a decision-maker may also be motivated to deviate from the prescription . In an experimental setting, this paper examines how the decision-mak ing process and the quality of decisions are affected by changes in th e quality of the authority's prescribed choice, changes in the level o f punishment for disobedience, and changes in the decision-making envi ronment.