Overcoming algorithm aversion: A comparison between process and outcome control
Abstract
Algorithm aversion occurs when humans are reluctant to use algorithms despite their superior performance. Studies show that giving users outcome control by providing agency over how models' predictions are incorporated into decision-making mitigates algorithm aversion. We study whether algorithm aversion is mitigated by process control, wherein users can decide what input factors and algorithms to use in model training. We conduct a replication study of outcome control, and test novel process control study conditions on Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) and Prolific. Our results partly confirm prior findings on the mitigating effects of outcome control, while also forefronting reproducibility challenges. We find that process control in the form of choosing the training algorithm mitigates algorithm aversion, but changing inputs does not. Furthermore, giving users both outcome and process control does not reduce algorithm aversion more than outcome or process control alone. This study contributes to design considerations around mitigating algorithm aversion.
Study specs
Replication study on outcome control and novel process control conditions tested on MTurk and Prolific platforms.
- Authors
- L Cheng,A Chouldechova
- Institution
- Carnegie Mellon University
- Discipline
- Human-Computer Interaction
- Study Type
- Experimental Study
- Year
- 2024
- Human Data Platform
- Prolific
- Source
- View Source DOI Google Scholar
Measured Outcomes
Impact of outcome control, process control, and combined controls on algorithm aversion mitigation.
Peer Review & Critical Discussion
Potential Selection Bias in 2023 Cohort
The participant pool shows a concerning overrepresentation of users from high-income demographics. Looking at Table 3, we can see that 78% of respondents had annual incomes above $75k, which significantly limits the generalizability of these findings to broader populations.
Non-naive Participants Issue
I've noticed a methodological concern regarding participant naivety. Given that Prolific users often complete multiple studies, there's a real risk that participants had prior exposure to similar experimental paradigms, which could confound the results.
RLHF Applicability to This Study Design
The implications for RLHF training pipelines are understated. If we accept the authors' conclusions about preference stability, this has direct consequences for how we should structure reward model training. The temporal decay effect described in Section 4.2 is particularly relevant.
Verify your expertise to join discussion
Create an account and verify your credentials to participate in peer discussions.