Description
Compare supplied alternative and default choice costs.
Behavioral economic tasks use explicit payoff units, reference values, time periods and supplied utility or discount conventions. A decision weight need not be a probability, one branch term is not a full expectation, and a nominal cost difference does not establish perceived switching difficulty or an actual preference.
Compare supplied alternative and default choice costs.
When to use this tool
Use Default Choice Switching Cost Gap when you already have defaultChoiceCost, alternativeChoiceCost and need to compare supplied alternative and default choice costs.
How to use the tool and how it works
- Enter defaultChoiceCost, alternativeChoiceCost. Use the units and conventions below.
- Run the tool. Correct any format, range, or cross-field input error before interpreting the output.
- Read signedGap. Use the output convention below.
Return alternativeChoiceCost-defaultChoiceCost, preserving signs.1
| Input field | Meaning and units | Accepted input |
|---|---|---|
| defaultChoiceCost | Default Choice Cost | Required. Finite number. |
| alternativeChoiceCost | Alternative Choice Cost | Required. Finite number. |
| Output field | Interpretation | Returned shape |
|---|---|---|
| signedGap | Signed Gap | Required. Finite number. |
{
"input": {
"defaultChoiceCost": 12,
"alternativeChoiceCost": 17
},
"output": {
"signedGap": 5
}
}Limitations and assumptions
- Use comparable currencies and cost scope. No switching action, friction, preference or behavioral mechanism is inferred.
- Inputs must satisfy both the field types and the cross-field conditions above. Invalid input causes an error; a successful false flag or documented placeholder is a different result.
- Numeric calculations use binary floating point unless exact decimal-integer arithmetic is explicitly stated. No hidden measurement tolerance or decimal rounding is added; nonfinite or out-of-contract results are rejected. Numeric signed-zero results are exported as zero.
Alternative or Complementary methods
Review the full task design, incentive and payoff definitions, participant records and statistical analysis. Estimate behavioral models from appropriate data when local supplied-value arithmetic cannot establish preferences or causal effects.
References
Similar or alternative tools
- Framing Nominal Equivalence Residual
Calculate a supplied cross-unit framing-equivalence residual.
- Framing Equivalent Price Pair
Calculate supplied reduced-price and percentage frames.