The role of expertise, impulsivity, and preference for intuition on decision quality

Decision-making researchers often face a trade-off when conducting controlled laboratory experiments, as these can limit the ability to identify stable relationships between decision-making quality and individual differences, such as expertise or personality traits. This study introduces an innovative paradigm that leverages the objective assessment capabilities of artificial intelligence in a naturalistic online chess setting. Ninety-four participants evaluated tactical chess positions and identified optimal moves under various time control conditions, followed by personality assessments. Expertise, measured by online Elo rating, emerged as a key predictor, accounting for 55 % of the variance in decision quality and 61 % in evaluation accuracy, underscoring the precision of the chosen approach. The study also highlights the significant impact of time control on decision-making. Additionally, the paradigm shows promise in examining the interplay between personality factors and decision-making processes, with a notable correlation between higher impulsivity scores and faster response times. However, high impulsivity was not associated with reduced decision quality, raising questions about the validity of this measurement. Overall, the results suggest that the chess paradigm, accessible to a broad sample due to the widespread appeal of online chess, provides a powerful tool that combines laboratory precision with real-world relevance.