Theories and computational models of decision-making usually focus on how strongly different attributes are weighted in choice, for example, as a function of their importance or salience to the decision-maker. However, when different attributes affect the decision process is a question that has received far less attention. Here, we investigated whether the timing of attribute consideration has a unique influence on decision-making by using a time-varying drift diffusion model and data from four separate experiments. Experimental manipulations of attention and neural activity demonstrated that we can dissociate the processes that determine the relative weighting strength and timing of attribute consideration. Thus, the processes determining either the weighting strengths or the timing of attributes in decision-making can independently adapt to changes in the environment or goals. Quantifying these separate influences of timing and weighting on choice improves our understanding and predictions of individual differences in decision behaviour.

决策制定的理论和计算模型通常关注不同属性在选择中的加权程度，例如，作为它们对决策者的重要性或显着性的函数。然而，当不同的属性影响决策过程时，这是一个很少受到关注的问题。在这里，我们通过使用时变漂移扩散模型和来自四个独立实验的数据来研究属性考虑的时间是否对决策具有独特的影响。注意力和神经活动的实验操作表明，我们可以分离确定属性考虑的相对权重强度和时间的过程。因此，在决策中确定权重强度或属性时间的过程可以独立地适应环境或目标的变化。量化时间和权重对选择的这些单独影响可以提高我们对决策行为中个体差异的理解和预测。