Section6

Question 1

Exploration vs Exploitation

Answer 1

• Exploitation: Refinement, efficiency, implementation.
• Exploration: Risk-taking, experimentation, flexibility.
• Ambidexterity: Balancing both for maximum payoff.

Question 2

Examples (IDEO)

Answer 2

• Intense brainstorming (exploration) combined with
  a well-defined methodology (exploitation)
• Client management: emphasises structure and distinct phases.
• Diverse teams: fosters unusual ideas but follows simple rules.

Question 3

Ambidexterity at the Individual Level

Answer 3

• Understanding personal exploration vs exploitation
• Attention control helps switch between both modes
• Key to decision-making performance.

Question 4

Attention Control

Answer 4

• Also called cognitive control or executive functions.
• Involves:
  
  • Initiating appropriate actions
  • Inhibiting impulsive behaviours
  • Selecting and storing relevant information
  • Planning and drawing analogies

Question 5

Two Main Types of Attention

Answer 5

• Bottom-Up: Driven by external stimuli.
• Top-Down: Guided by goals and intentions.
• Attention control regulates when to switch.

Question 6

Generalists vs Specialists

Answer 6

• Generalists and specialists both explore and exploit,
  but differ in when they do so.
• Generalists often show stronger activation in attention control regions.
• Result: Generalists may achieve higher overall payoffs.

Question 7

Study Methods (fMRI & Behaviour)

Answer 7

• Event-related fMRI to measure neural activity (BOLD signal).
• Four-armed gambling task to track exploration-exploitation behaviour.
• Key metric: total payoff from 300 trials.