Stated Choice Experiments with Complex Ecosystem Changes: The Effect of Information Formats on Estimated Variances and Choice Parameters

Stated choice experiments about ecosystem changes involve complex information. Thisstudy examines whether the format in which ecosystem information is presented torespondents affects stated choice outcomes. Our analysis develops a utility-maximizingmodel to describe respondent behavior. The model shows how alternative questionnaireformats alter respondents’ use of filtering heuristics and result in differences in preferenceestimates. Empirical results from a large-scale stated choice experiment confirm thatdifferent format presentations of the same information lead to different preferenceparameter estimates and error variances. A tabular format results in choice parameter estimateswith statistically smaller variances than parameters estimated from data obtainedwith a text-based format. A text-based format also appears to induce greater use ofdecision heuristics than does a tabular format.