Exam 3 (cumulative) Flashcards
What are the two ways to describe how people reason and make decisions?
Normative & descriptive
What is normative decision-making?
Choices a rational person makes under ideal circumstances; pros and cons
ex. if we were computers
What is descriptive decision-making?
choices a typical person makes under typical circumstances
ex. humans & emotions
How can problem solving be measured?
Moves, accuracy, time
*avoid bad questions, think aloud
What is the problem space?
Hypothetical state that shows current state, goal state, all possible spaced in between, and operations to move from one or another
ex. chess match
What are two important things to consider when dealing with the problem space?
- how the problem is represented - may differ from task environment, needs to facilitate goal achievement
- how problem space is searched - consideration and evaluation of allowable moves, limited capacity of working memory (can’t think of all 500 possible moves at once)
What are three types of strategies used for solving problems?
forward chaining, backward chaining, means-end analysis
What is forward chaining?
Evaluates all possible actions and selects the best option to achieve a goal
What is backward chaining?
starts with goal and works backwards to initial state
What is a means-end analysis?
you identify the difference between the current state and goal state and try to reduce it (assuming straight path)
What is an analogy?
A type of heuristic, comparison between current problem and similar, familiar problem
- good unless bad analogy
- can be used to explain process
What step comes after problem solving?
Decision making
What is the expected-utility theory?
Gambling preference determined by outcomes, probability of happening, risk aversion, individual differences
What are some descriptive theories of decision-making?
Framing, bounded rationality, heuristics
What is framing?
context of decision changes our decision even when context doesn’t change utility
ex. 20% fat or 80% fat free
What is bounded rationality?
decision-maker based decisions on simplified model of the world
What are heuristics?
Mental shortcuts, allow us to overcome the many decisions we make every day; can lead to bias
What is the satisficing heuristic?
Searching through alternatives until you find one that’s good enough
ex. grocery shopping
What is elimination-by-aspects heuristic? What does stress cause?
People only focus on features that are most personally important
ex. buying a car -> eliminate cars over $15k
- more stress, more likely to narrow down
- reduces processing load, but can lead to elimination of optimal choice
What is availability heuristic?
How easily you can retrieve an event
- easy to remember = more likely to remember
- causes overestimation (ex. plane crashes more memorable, less likely to occur than car crashes)
What is representativeness heuristic?
Things that seem more like parent population more likely to occur (atypical doesn’t happen as often)
ex. birth order
Complex tasks [increase/decrease] the use of heuristics?
increase
How does HFE want to improve decision-making?
training, should focus on specific task environments; teach statistics
What are decision aids?
Help improve decision-making performance
ex. notes on index cards, Google Maps - routes based on traffic etc.
