Normative or Confirmative: Effects of Information Quality and Redundancy in Decision Support Systems

Objective: The study investigates users’ tendency to access decision support (DS) systems as a function of the correlation between the DS information and the information users already have, the ongoing interaction with such systems, and the effect of correlated information on subjective trust. Background: Previous research has shown inconclusive findings regarding whether people prefer information that correlates with information they already have. Some studies conclude that individuals recognize the value of noncorrelated information, given its unique content, while others suggest that users favor correlated information as it aligns with existing evidence. The impact of the level of correlation on performance, subjective trust, and the decision to use DS remains unclear. Method: In an experiment (N = 481), participants made classification decisions based on available information. They could also purchase additional DS with different degrees of correlation with the available information. Results: Participants tended to purchase information more often when the DS was not correlated with the available information. Correlated information reduced performance, and the effect of correlation on subjective trust and performance depended on DS sensitivity. Conclusion: Additional information may not improve performance when it is correlated with available information (i.e., it is redundant). Hence, the benefits of additional information and DS depend on the information the system and the operator use. Application: It is essential to analyze the correlations between information sources and design the available information to allow optimal task performance and possibly minimize redundancy (e.g., by locating sensors in different positions to capture independent data).