High-value decisions are made quickly, with no consistent effect on accuracy

High-value decisions tend to be made more quickly. For instance, decision-makers are generally faster when choosing between two preferred options than when choosing between two less preferred options. Several theories have been developed to explain why people are faster for higher overall values, such as facilitation of information processing, reduced caution, or increased processing noise. Importantly, these theories make different predictions for how overall value should influence accuracy, though current results in the literature provide mixed conclusions. Here, we reanalyzed data from 40 previous studies to examine whether decision accuracy is consistently influenced by the overall value of the options. We find that, aside from low-level stimuli-driven effects, decision accuracy does not show a consistent pattern of increase or decrease based on overall value. Our results suggest that earlier claims of a systematic effect of overall value on decision accuracy may have been premature. We provide a mechanistic account of results, discuss why these results may challenge many prevailing theories of decision-making, and highlight open questions for future research.