%A LI Xiao-Ming, JIANG Song-Yuan %T The influence of power on choice deferral %0 Journal Article %D 2019 %J Advances in Psychological Science %R 10.3724/SP.J.1042.2019.00447 %P 447-452 %V 27 %N 3 %U {https://journal.psych.ac.cn/adps/CN/abstract/article_4617.shtml} %8 2019-03-15 %X

The present study aimed at exploring the role of power in choice deferral (a subcategory of decision avoidance) by studying the moderating role of choice difficulty (Experiment 1) and the mediating role of decision process (Experiment 2). The results showed that choice difficulty can moderate the effect of power on choice deferral, when there is not a dominating option in the choice options, preference for deferral is more pronounced for powerless individuals than for powerful individuals. Additionally, the variance in the proportion of time spent on each attribute mediated the effect of power on choice deferral. The results indicated that lower power can lead to more choice of deferral options (especially in difficult decisions), and decision processing may play an important role in the effect of power on choice deferral.