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Abstract This study tests the hypothesis that individual differences in trait maximization as well as in core personal values impact decision-making in dynamic and high-risk situations. 420 student-candidates at a Spanish police College (64.8 % male; 18 to 25 years) completed an online questionnaire that included maximization measures and core personal values. They then responded to three written vignettes that required dichotomous decisions (act vs. wait) under conditions of uncertainty. Multilevel modelling revealed that higher scores in maximization predicted a greater tendency to choose the action option later, but no differences were found in difficulty or perceived confidence. The tendency to wait was significantly higher among those who had wait-favouring core values; likewise, it was lower among those who had action-favouring core values. This study confirms the role of the trait maximization in the timeliness of decision-making, and illustrates the relationship between certain identified values, and decision making.
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This content will become publicly available on August 1, 2026
Multilevel Decision‐Making and Protected Area Prioritization
ABSTRACT Conservation initiatives depend on interactions among organizations and communities that have different goals. Multilevel hierarchies provide a common decision‐making structure with different actors responsible for conservation decisions over nested spatial scales. We examine consequences of hierarchical decision‐making for spatial prioritization of new protected areas. We combine insights from general theory, an algebraic example, and a numerical application, the latter motivated by federal‐to‐state grant‐giving in the western United States. Working through a decision‐making hierarchy means fewer species can be protected for a given budget than suggested by analyses that ignore the role of conservation institutions in decision‐making. This efficiency cost results from higher level decision‐makers—the federal government in our numerical application—giving up control to lower level actors—state governments in this case. Ensuring close agreement over spatial priorities between actors can limit potential losses in how much biodiversity can be protected. By reallocating funds among lower level actors, the higher level actor can mitigate remaining losses. Spatial optimization approaches that ignore the integral role of institutions in conservation, like decision‐making hierarchies, overestimate what protected area programs can achieve and risk misallocating limited conservation funds. Accounting for multilevel decision‐making reveals where building consensus among actors will be particularly important and suggests alternative strategies that conservation funders can pursue.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2009103
- PAR ID:
- 10648672
- Publisher / Repository:
- Wiley
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Natural Resource Modeling
- Volume:
- 38
- Issue:
- 3
- ISSN:
- 0890-8575
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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