Introduction to Judgement and Decision-Making

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Questions and Answers

What heuristic did participants primarily rely on when assessing the probability that Jack was an engineer?

  • Conjunction fallacy
  • Availability heuristic
  • Affect heuristic
  • Representativeness heuristic (correct)

What is the conjunction fallacy?

  • Believing that one event is more likely than two combined events.
  • Believing that two events can occur simultaneously without any probability.
  • Believing that the conjunction of two events is less likely than either event alone.
  • Believing that the combination of two events is more likely than either event (correct)

In the study regarding the blue saliva test, which group used the base-rate information effectively?

  • Participants believing the blue paper indicated a health problem (correct)
  • Participants who were misinformed about the test interpretation
  • Participants believing the blue paper indicated no health problem
  • Participants with no knowledge of base rates

How did emotional responses influence participants' judgments in the medical test study?

<p>They caused participants to judge the benefits as less when harm was indicated. (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Why did participants incorrectly believe Linda was more likely to be a feminist bank teller?

<p>They applied the representativeness heuristic focusing on her description. (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What bias is indicated by the tendency to judge the likelihood of events based on how easily examples come to mind?

<p>Availability heuristic (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

In the context of diagnosing medical cases, what factor can lead doctors to make biased decisions?

<p>Previous case similarities (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What effect does cognitive load have on decision-making in relation to the availability heuristic?

<p>It increases the likelihood of incorrect choices. (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is a reason for inaccurate judgments, according to the discussion on biases?

<p>Limited exposure to diverse information (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which heuristic involves starting with an initial estimate and then adjusting based on new information?

<p>Anchoring-and-adjustment heuristic (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is a defining characteristic of System 1 processing?

<p>Automatic and emotionally charged (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which statement accurately reflects the relationship between System 1 and System 2 processes?

<p>System 2 modifies and evaluates responses produced by System 1. (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What was a significant finding regarding participant responses to base-rate problems?

<p>Base-rate information often influenced immediate answers regardless of correctness. (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What does the alignment problem suggest about System 1 and System 2 characteristics?

<p>The attributes between the two systems are less correlated than theoretically assumed. (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What does the good/bad fallacy suggest about System 1 and System 2 processing?

<p>System 2 processing is over-simplified as inherently good and reliable. (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

How does accountability influence decision-making regarding previously ineffective choices?

<p>It increases the sunk-cost effect due to a need to justify past decisions. (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What bias is more prevalent when individuals feel accountable for their decisions, particularly in the context of accepting new drugs?

<p>Status quo bias (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

In a study involving medical experts, what was the effect of accountability on their decision-making regarding treatment?

<p>Their decision-making was more biased when required to explain their choices. (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is a primary advantage of the fast-and-frugal heuristics approach in real-world decision-making?

<p>It simplifies decision-making using effective simple strategies. (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What simple heuristic was evaluated against more complex models in investment decision-making, and what was the outcome?

<p>1/N heuristic outperformed all more complex models. (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Flashcards

Representativeness Heuristic

The tendency to ignore prior probabilities (base rates) and rely on how representative a description is of a category.

Conjunction Fallacy

Assuming the combination of two events is more likely than one event alone, even if this is logically incorrect.

Availability Heuristic

Making judgments based on how easily examples come to mind, often leading to overestimates of the likelihood of events.

Affect Heuristic

Using emotional responses to influence quick decisions or judgments.

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Heeding Base Rates

When individuals are motivated to use base-rate information, they tend to use it more effectively in their judgments.

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Parallel Constraint Satisfaction Theory

A cognitive theory proposing that information processing happens simultaneously using all available information.

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Dual-process Theory

A model suggesting that our minds have two distinct processing systems: System 1 (fast, automatic) and System 2 (slow, deliberate).

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System 1 vs. System 2

System 1 uses heuristics, which can lead to biases, while System 2 can correct for these biases, but is effortful and prone to errors.

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Alignment Problem

Although Systems 1 and 2 are believed to be fundamentally different, research suggests that they might be less distinct and are more about complexity of processing.

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Good/Bad Fallacy

While System 1 is often associated with errors and System 2 with rationality, research shows that both systems can make mistakes.

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Anchoring-and-Adjustment Heuristic

A cognitive bias where our judgments are influenced by the first piece of information we encounter, even if that information is irrelevant or incorrect. We then adjust our initial estimate, but often not enough.

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Negative Affect Heuristic

The tendency for people to judge the benefits of a test as less and experience more negative affect if they perceive the test as potentially harmful.

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Availability Heuristic (Media)

A mental shortcut based on how readily we can retrieve information from memory, whether it's from personal experiences or media coverage. The more easily we recall something, the more likely we feel it is.

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Availability Bias

A cognitive bias where we misinterpret information by focusing on the most readily available examples in our memory, even if they are not representative of the bigger picture. This can lead to inaccurate judgments and decisions.

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Sunk-Cost Effect

Continuing with a course of action even though it's ineffective, because of the resources already invested in it.

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Status Quo Bias

The tendency to maintain the current state of things, even when a change is advantageous.

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Accountability and Bias

Increased likelihood of clinging to existing decisions when feeling accountable for them, even if they are ineffective.

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Fast-and-Frugal Heuristics

The idea that simple decision-making rules can be just as effective as complex strategies in real-world situations.

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Applied Decision-Making

Real-world decision-making involves more complex situations, with greater consequences and multiple decisions over time, compared to single decisions in a laboratory.

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Study Notes

Introduction to Judgement and Decision-Making

  • Judgement involves evaluating the likelihood of events with incomplete information, accuracy is a key measure.
  • Decision-making involves choosing from multiple options, differentiating from problem-solving which entails generating solutions.
  • Consequences are typically assessed in decisions, but good decisions can lead to poor outcomes.
  • Judgement is often a critical preliminary step in the decision-making process.

Judgement Research

  • Bayesian inference refines prior beliefs by incorporating new evidence.
  • Ignoring base rates (prior probabilities) is a common judgement bias.
  • Heuristics are simplified decision-making strategies that prioritize speed and efficiency over accuracy.
  • Representativeness heuristic assumes objects conform to established category prototypes.
  • The conjunction fallacy leads to the belief that combined events are more probable than individual events.

Heeding Base Rates

  • People sometimes incorporate base rates in their judgements even though they typically ignore them.
  • An individual's motivation can influence whether base rates are considered.

Availability Heuristic

  • People overestimate the frequency of events easily recalled.
  • Media coverage or personal experience strongly influence this heuristic.
  • Affect heuristic suggests that emotional responses can bias judgments.
  • The subjective ease of recalling events drives probability estimations.

Availability and Affect Heuristics Example

  • Study participants estimated the likelihood of death by different causes; those with more media coverage were judged more frequent.
  • This can be a result of the availability heuristic, personal experiences in conjunction with media influence, or both.

Theories of Judgement

  • Support theory suggests that the wording of a question impacts the perceived likelihood of an event.
  • Subadditivity effect - The combined probabilities of several events are perceived lower than the probability of any individual event.
  • Natural frequency hypothesis - Representing events in frequencies (rather than probabilities) facilitates better judgement and decision making.
  • Natural frequency hypothesis Example- Simple frequency representation of factual scenarios often improve understanding and correctness compared to probabilistic presentation.

Dual-Process Theory

  • Kahneman's dual-process theory suggests two systems for cognitive processing.
  • System 1 - Fast, intuitive, automatic, and emotionally driven.
  • System 2 - Slower, deliberate, conscious, and controlled.
  • Decision errors often stem from System 1 biases, which are sometimes corrected by System 2.

Fast and Frugal Heuristics

  • Take-the-best heuristic: Selecting the option with the most important attribute or feature, is a simple and effective option.
  • Recognition heuristic: Choosing the option that is more easily recognized due to familiarity.
  • Elimination-by-aspects heuristic: Evaluation of options based upon a single attribute or aspect.

Decision-making Under Risk

  • Prospect theory: Decisions are influenced by gains and losses relative to a reference point more than the absolute value of outcomes.
  • Loss aversion: Losses are perceived as more impactful than equivalent gains.
  • Framing effect: The way options are presented impacts decisions.
  • Sunk-cost effect: Persistence in a course of action due to past investments, even if further investments are inadvisable.

Emotional and Social Factors

  • Emotional factors influence decisions.
  • Regret is associated with riskier choices following losses.
  • Elation associated with riskier choices following wins.
  • Social factors influence decision-making (Accountability, Social perception, Group influence).
  • Impact bias overestimates the intensity and duration of emotional reactions.

Prospect Theory

  • People are sensitive to perceived gains or losses rather than the final monetary outcome.
  • Loss aversion: losses are more impactful (negative influence).
  • Framing effect: The presentation of choices influences the decision.

Naturalistic Decision-Making

  • Galotti's theory outlines decision-making phases in unstructured environments: setting goals, gathering information, decision structuring, decision-making, and evaluation.
  • Recognition-primed decision-making emphasizes pattern recognition and mental simulation in rapid decisions.
  • Klein's model predicts that experts frequently rely on prior experiences and pattern recognition to make high-pressure decisions.
  • Unconscious thought theory: unconscious thought may improve decision-making during complex tasks.

Additional Articles

  • There is an article on nudging healthy food choices by using default options in randomized trials.

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