Aided Decision Processes in Dynamic Events: Measuring Decision Support Systems' Influence and Human Responsibility

Decision support systems (DSSs) increasingly assist human users who should consider their output and combine it with independently available information when making a decision. Some decision-making events are dynamic, requiring a series of decisions in interdependent stages. In them, users may not use DSS advice optimally, possibly compromising task performance and preventing the DSS from fulfilling its purpose. We report an experiment in which participants made decisions in dynamic events, observing the output from a DSS. They largely followed normative decision-making rules, but decisions were based on the DSS's perceived, and not necessarily the actual, accuracy. Participants mostly made up their minds in the first stage, and using the DSS typically lengthened the time to reach a decision. These findings should be considered when designing DSS and related regulations and operational processes so people can utilize the DSS's full potential.