lecture 4- part: decision making and cognitive biases

Question 1

decision making

Answer 1

process of selecting a choice from all the available options

Question 2

steps in problem solving

Answer 2

D define problem 
E establish criteria and constraints
C consider all alternatives 
I identify best fitting alternatives 
D develop and implement a lan of action 
E evaluate and monitor the solution

Question 3

rational choice theory

Answer 3

basic premises

1) behavior is based on rational calculations
2) humans act on rationality in decision making
3) choices are aimed at maximizing profit/
- economix theory
- finding the most adacnatageous path

Question 4

influences on decisions

Answer 4

• emotions
• information overload
• analysis paralysis = overthinking
• choice overload
• decision fatigue
• cognitive biases

Question 5

cognitive biases

Answer 5

• deviations from rational judgements
• biases that influence beliefs
• …decision making
• …memory
• ….social behavior

Question 6

curse of knowledge

Answer 6

• assumption that others have the background to understand
• first studies by Camerer, weber, Loewenstein
• tapping experiment
• > person is ask to tap a melody
• > second person should guess how many other people would identify the song
• > they guessed that many more would
• important to avoid that bias in education (for teachers)

Question 7

Anchoring/focalism

Answer 7

• being too dependent on first information
• Tversky, Kahneman studies
• found in arguments, negotiations, estimates etc
• calculation experiment?
• very difficult to avoid

Question 8

peak-end effect

Answer 8

-events are judged based on the peak (intense point) and the end of experiences
-Frederikson, Kahneman
-regardless of duration or pleasantness of experience
-pain experiment:
2 procedures, one longer but less painful end
-> usable in painful treatments

Question 9

bias blind spot

Answer 9

• influence of biases are sen in others, but not oneself
• studies by pronin, lin, ross
• unrelated to actual decision making ability
• no awareness of unconscious biases
• maybe connected to self enhancement biases
• there are individual differences ( so if you suffer more or less from bias blind spot)