Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM

Browse over 1 million classes created by top students, professors, publishers, and experts.


See full index

brain & behaviour 2 > Advanced Decision Making > Flashcards

Advanced Decision Making Flashcards

You may prefer our related Brainscape-certified flashcards:
The Brain flashcards
1
Q

what is executive control?

A

flexibly interact with the world and plan your behaviour in various contexts
* incl inhibiting and initiating behaviours themselves and appropriately following rules in given contexts

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

what brain region is responsible for executive control?

A

pre-frontal cortex

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

what happens if there’s damage in the pre-frontal cortex?

A

usually deficits to cognitive flexibility
-> issues with general problem solving behaviour

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

how are motor skills usually referred to as? (Bernstein, 1996).

A

ability to solve a motor problem correctly, quickly, rationally and resourcefully”
-> we will be looking at the aspect of rationality

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

what are many motor deficits and syndromes often associated with

A

cognitive problems
-> if you have a deficit in cerebrum or cerebral cortex, motor deficits are often accompanied by cognitive deficits *incl damage directly to the upper and lower motor neurone

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

motor acts are not carried out in isolation to what?

A

cognitive mechanisms

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

what is an example of a tough decision?

A
  • Mount Everest -> 300+ recorded deaths on the mountain
    -> above 8000 feet in the air can no longer support life
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

what are deaths on Mount Everest usually from?

A
  • Avalanche/Ice collapse.
  • Exposure.
  • Falls.
  • Hypoxia/altitude sickness.
  • Exhaustion.
  • Cerebral oedemas.
    • Strokes/cardiac arrests.
      ^ Most bodies are still on the mountain.
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

what is the tragic example of Francis Arsentiev (1998)?

A

had no oxygen-> chose to climb with no equipment
* other climbers had to make the difficult decision of helping her or not, with a difficult decision of their own life being affected

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

when making a decision in context to free will, Libet (1985) establishes 3 criteria, what are these?

A
  1. it arises endogenously, not in direct response to an external stimulus or cue
  2. There are no externally imposed restrictions or compulsions not being told to do something that directly or immediately control subjects’ initiation and performance of the act;
  3. Most important, subjects feel introspectively that they are performing the act on their own initiative and that they are free to start or not start the act as they wish need to introspectively feel like you’ve made a decision.

^but you may not have any conscious guiding skill and might be a decision you make in the moment

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

when making a decision, what are the three conditions?

A
  1. At least two possible choices *could include two alternative force choice
  2. Expectations can be predicted about the outcomes *need to have an idea of the outcome i.e. what will the behaviour change -> need to make a value outcome about the decision
  3. Value of outcome can be assessed *know that something will happen as a consequence to you

^ we need to enact executive control (and apply previous knowledge) but also: cognitive processing involving memory, reward, rules to be enacted and so on.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

what is normative theories?

A

Normative = an evaluative standard

  • Concerned with optimal decision making.
  • Normative accounts can almost be thought of as the ideal decision -> like we should do in the face of probability *if we understood parameters of a given decision with a perfect clarify (best optimal decision you could make on the basis of parameters)
  • For example: based on the concept of probability and expected value (e.g. odds of rolling a dice).
  • We build up concepts of probability and expected values.
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

Based on experiences, how can you use normative accounts?

A

you can take expected values and probability understanding, mapping out the two in principle to normative accounts and make a decision

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

However, what is the issue with normative accounts?

A
  • expected values has limitations
  • Biases become more obvious when risks are increased.
  • Russian roulette and dice rolling have the same probability…
  • This brings in notion of utility which reflects psychological rather than economic values.
  • When people make decisions, there are certain psychological modifers that take place and that can bias your decision i.e. risk
    If stakes are a lot more risky -> concept of utility *psychological value we apply to something by our mind (sometimes called expected utility)
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

when the overall value increases, and you might lose more, what option do you go for?

A

go for the safe option

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

what is expected utility

A

(objective vs. subjective value)
* what it’s worth to you

brain alters economic information into a value which applies to you

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

how do we tend to make decisions?

A

based on our expected utility rather than value

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

what is the rationality theory of expected utility?

A

we want to maximise our expected utility

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

what does expected utility help us to do?

A

distinguish between objective measures and subjective components in our brain -> probability between two options, converts economic information into a value which applies to you

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

what is the relationship of expected utility like?

A

NOT linear -> understood about how people appreciate financial gain and value

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

what do we tend to find when utility (arbitrary unit) momentary value increases?

A

utility (varies among people -> individual component) begins to equal out (i.e. $90 to 100 has less value than $0 to 10)

whereas there is a significant increase in utility when the price is low

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

what do parameters in our brains do?

A

assign a rational decision based on subjective value to us
* but if we were purely rational then people would all make the same decisions -> we sometimes make irrational decisions

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

what is the problem with utility theory explaining human behaviour?

A

normative models do not always represent real world behaviours -> people do not make rational decisions and there are psychological modifications that occur which affected your decisions

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
24
Q

what are some examples of normative models (like utility theory) not explaining individual’s behaviour

A

i.e. * people will pay to avoid risk (insurance) but will also buy lottery tickets (more than expected value)
* gamblers believe in lucky streaks
* might go for low probability, high reward situations i.e. lottery

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
25
Q

how does expected utility work as a theory?

A

Cost ($) and Expected Utility (more individual components that represents the value you assign this as an individual)

-> what we assign into the terms of value of something
-> parameters are just assigned a rational decision based on it’s subject value to us

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
26
Q

what do issues with utility theory lead to the concept of?

A

Prospect Theory (by Tsursky and Carnman)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
27
Q

what is the concept of prospect theory?

A

logical aspects of decision-making and parameters are available, yet we still make decisions that have nothing to do with expected utility

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
28
Q

what does prospect theory predict?

A

what people will do, not what they should -> explore human decision making and see where it generalises:
1. reference dependence
2. probability weighting

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
29
Q

reference dependence

A

People make decisions based on anticipated gains and losses compared to their current state –> why we can make decisions in different context

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
30
Q

probability weighting

A

probabilities are subjectively assessed

e.g. overestimate chance of winning and underestimate high probability events
-> this can help explain certain aspects of behaviour i.e. we may be risk averse for situations with high probably gains while we may be more risk seeking for low probability gains and risk averse for low probability loses like insurance because it’s almost like a sunk cost.

31
Q

risk adverse

A

the tendency to avoid risk

32
Q

what are heuristics in decision-making and what are their role?

A
  • account for our lack of rationality in certain situations
  • help us make quick decisions (where we may have partial/incomplete information)
33
Q

what does bounded rationality/limits allow people to do?

A

solve problems and quickly within limitations (Herbert Simon, 1957) -> pressures that we face regarding making optimal decisions
* can be expressed as cognitive biases

34
Q

are cognitive bias good or bad?

A

can be useful but also wrong
-> can get things wrong and exploited through them i.e. third parities and understanding decision-making of others

35
Q

what should humans be aware of about their limits of decision-making?

A

as people it’s very important to be aware of the limits of our own decision making in terms of getting exploited through third parities and understanding decision-making of others

36
Q

what is availability bias?

A

mental shortcut that rely on immediate examples when evaluating a specific topic or decision or something that you have to do
-> bias towards more immediate examples that come to mind

37
Q

What did Tversky and Kahneman (1973) find about the letter K?

A

there are three times more words that you will know of with K in the third position than words that begin with K
-> people recall fewer words beginning with the third letter K than the first letter K - first letter is more prominent so we typically produce more varied answers for that and less diverse responses for the third letter question
* this is an example of availability heuristic: a bias towards more immediate examples that come to mind

38
Q

how can availability bias manifest problematic behaviour?

A

I.e. JAWS, found that people were terrified by sharks and then people went to beaches less manifesting anti-shark behaviour

39
Q

when choosing a lottery ticket, we tend to be biased by representative heuristic, what does this mean?

A

we make decisions based on representative examples of something i.e. tend to choose a lottery ticket which are the most representative of a lottery ticket (5 numbers are all random)

40
Q

what is representativeness heuristic?

A

derived from “the degree to which an event is similar in essential characteristics to it’s parent population, and reflects the salient features” (Tversky and Kahneman, 1972).

-> Focus on a stereotype or perceived generalisation of a given category.
-> Irregularity can be part of this category.

41
Q

how can representativeness heuristic be problematic?

A

If exposed through misleading sterotypes of a population through propaganda or a negative experience with a specific individual, you may that extrapolate that onto a particular group. This may cause issues with things such as homophobia, racism etc.

42
Q

what is anchoring bias (or vocalism)?

A

when we make assessments by starting from an implicit or explicit initial anchor (tendency when making decisions to fixate on the first piece of information given to us).

-> subsequent value negotiation might derive from the anchor

43
Q

what is adjustment bias (and how is it related to anchoring)?

A

insufficient adjustments away from this particular anchor (i.e. given a piece of information and out judgements, implicit-explicitly are based on this information even when we know that it’s abject nonsense, we still struggle to avoid information in certain situations)

-> when we make insufficient adjustments away from the anchor.
-> can be hard to avoid! Gandhi death estimates (Strack et al., 1997)

44
Q

how can we be influenced by anchor bias?

A

initial information can change our ideas -> if we’re more agreeable, we tend to get influenced by the anchor even more which can be difficult to avoid

45
Q

what happens when an anchor has a degree of specificity?

A

more specific the anchor is, gives people a false impression that it is more accurately -> makes you more closely linked to the anchor, given the specificness of what the anchor is

46
Q

what is Nash Equilibrium?

A

each person has a chosen strategy, an action plan choosing their own actions based on what has happened so far in this situation.
* and no person in the scenario can increase their own expected pay off by changing their strategy while their opponent leaves theirs unchanged. –> Then the current set of strategy choices constitutes a Nash equilibrium or a stable state

47
Q

Nash Equilibrium:
A set of strategies, one for each player, such that no player has an incentive to change their strategy given when the other players are doing.

What did Crow find?

A

a lot of our decisions are not made in isolation and instead they are made of factoring of other people
-> i.e. a ‘rule nobody wants to break’ (Spaniel, 2012)

48
Q

If you use a contingency table, labelling and calculating strategies, with a specific optimal strategy but also three non/less-optimal ones, what rules do we tend to follow?

A

the rules which is in our best interest, but some of these choices have consequences and therefore you may need to beneficially change your strategy
(i.e. you want the best strategy for yourself, which will have less consequences -> as you are unaware of your opponents strategy)
-> You want to maximise your pay offs

49
Q

what strategy do we tend to choose in terms of a Nash Equilibrium?

A

the optimal strategy
-> if the other party changes their strategy, we still benefit in the same way
-> rules of nash rationality break down if you have repeated

50
Q

when do the rules of nash rationality break down?

A

if you have repeated interactions with an individual you are playing with

51
Q

what is prisoner’s dilemma based on?

A

nash equilibrium

52
Q

what is the optimal idea in the prisoner’s dilemma

A

to snitch on each other and get three years (because you will do better in all scenarios which are snitch)
-> no rational temptation for the other party to change their alternative option

53
Q

why is the prisoner’s dilemma important?

A

it’s a factor in social context to our decision making -> exploring human behaviour with the paradigm of economic gain
-> pro-social behaviour: another cognitive bias?

54
Q

what prisoners’ dilemma have even more ecological validity?

A

iterated

55
Q

what are primary reinforcers?

A

direct benefits -> water, food, sex, pleasure.

56
Q

what are secondary reinforcers?

A

i.e. money | when reward can be used to gain other rewards (used to gain access to the primary reinforcer)
-> no value in itself
-> gain power through association

57
Q

we’re also aversive, what does this mean?

A

avoiding situations in which some of these reinforcers are removed or restricted
-> removal of reinforcers
-> aversive stimuli

58
Q

what does dopamine play an important role in?

A

flagging things up to us in our brains -> reward predictions (brain most integrated with our dopamine system)

59
Q

what does dopamine affect?

A

affects your movement

60
Q

what does the reward system / reward prediction include

A

VTA -> projects to the whole cortex including aspects of our limbic system -> (memory and reward areas) -> means our brain learn quite quickly and predict things from environment based on interactions with dopamine system

61
Q

what happens if the substantia nigra when we stop producing dopamine?

A

gives rise to classic symptoms (parkinson’s) and affects our movement

62
Q

In terms of reward prediction, ventral tegmental area (in the midbrain).

A
  • Front of brainstem.
  • This projects to the whole of the cortex.
  • To all the areas of the brain, including the limbic system which mediates memory and reward.
  • Our brain is essentially soaked in this transmitter that is involved in learning.
63
Q

what neurotransmitter is also involved in reward other than dopamine

A

adrenaline

64
Q

what is the issue with mobile gaming?

A
  • it’s all about extracting the most amount of money and many games have been designed to be highly addictive
    -> lots of secondary reinforcers: lights, sounds, cutesy graphics associated with the primary reinforcer of winning, creates a pleasant environment in the content of game
  • scarcity and intermittent reinforcers -> rewards are intermittent so we tend to engage with behaviour more -> scared of missing opportunities f gaining reward as they drip rewards through game, optimal ratios and intervals so you engage with the game more
65
Q

how do punishments work in online gaming?

A

distanced through premium currency. -> losing money is problematic (want to avoid) and it is masked through a premium currency which you can buy (i.e. gem stones) as a way of extracting cash so you create a step by removing the aversive component and instead you see the gems and are enjoying them

66
Q

how does instant to delay gratification work on mobile games

A

(rewards eventually become more distally time locked -> make people work harder so have to do more work, gain money to gain access to them).

67
Q

remedies for loss aversion in mobile games

A

pay to move onto another level if you’re stuck, creates a barrier to avoid loss aversion and avoid the unpleasant situation.

68
Q

issues with online games

A

Reciprocity, envy and other social dynamics (online friends -> a lot hard to leave that particular game -> may get jealously so tempted to spend more money to get to the same level).

69
Q

Sunk Costs in mobile gaming

A

(throwing good money after bad) and endowed progress (i.e. stickers to show the progress you’ve made, a catalogue of things you’ve done -> in online gaming, you’ll probably get a detail map so you can see how far you’ve come, how much you’ve got left to make you more interested in the game).

70
Q

Loot boxes are gambling integrated into children games i.e. battlefront 2 has loot boxes that enhance your character so people can buy boxes to get better of the game
* randomised nature of boxes -> form of gambling
* A Paper investigated: Is there a relationship between problematic gambling behaviour and the amount of young people buying loot boxes (and the amount)?

What did they find?

A

some kind of behaviour
* Loot boxes causing gambling behaviours
* Game companies profiting off adolescents who have gambling problems

71
Q

how can decisions be understood?

A

in terms of expected utility but also how people behave.

72
Q

what do heuristics provide?

A

short cuts in our decision making but can sometimes go wrong.

73
Q

dopamine is?

A

executive control.

74
Q

decisions involve

A

executive control

brain & behaviour 2 (19 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2024 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions