Most of us want to make our own decisions – even if it costs us

Do you insist on taking decisions when others are better placed? Or do you pass the buck when it’s your call?

Imagine you are playing a gambling game which involves guessing whether a coin comes up heads or tails. You’ve been guessing correctly half the time and, if you keep this up, will be £5 up. Now you are offered a choice. For a small fee, you can buy the services of an “advisor”, with access to the randomisation procedures of the game.

(a) Would you delegate to an advisor who charges £1, and has a 60% success rate, giving you an expected net payoff of £5 (£6 expected winnings minus the £1 fee)?

(b) If you said no, what about an advisor who charges £2, and has an 80% success rate, an expected net payoff of £6 (£8 winnings, less £2 fee)?

(c) If you still said no, what about an advisor who charges £2 and has a 90% success rate, an expected net payoff of £7 (£9 winnings less £2 fee)?

If you said yes to (a), you’re a super-delegator. You’re happy for others to take decisions even when you have nothing to gain. If you held out for (b), you’re flexible and happy to delegate when others know even slightly more than you. If you held out for (c) – or continued to say no – you’re a control freak and refuse to delegate even when this costs you money. In fact, most of us are super control freaks. When a version of this game was run under test conditions, the average participant was prepared to forgo £3.15 for the ability to make their own decisions.

Order Are You Smarter Than a Chimpanzee? by Ben Ambridge (Profile Books at £12.99) for £11.04, at bookshop.theguardian.com