Self-control and Decision support systems

Question 1

Metaknowledge

Answer 1

What you know about what you know. We diversify information sources, know their interests.
- Your confidence should be directly related to the quality and quantity of the information that you have.

Question 2

why debiasing is hard

Answer 2

Biases are deeply rooted in human cognition, and often operate unconsciously.

Warnings, descriptions, and feedback can help reduce, but normally cannot eliminate it completely. Extensive training can be efficient, with coaching and feedback, but these also yield limited success

Question 3

Debiasing

Answer 3

We make worse decisions when we are tired, emotional, distracted and not that interested.
When we debias, we replace intuition with formal and analytical process or training individuals in statistical reasoning.

Question 4

Self-control

Answer 4

The self’s capacity to change its own states and responsibilities.
Self-control overrides a pattern of response and replace it by another.

Question 5

self-control examples

Answer 5

• Thoughts (ignoring unwanted thoughts or forcing oneself to focus)
• Emotions (getting into, out of or unnaturally perceiving some emotion or mood)
• Regulating impulses (resisting temptation)
• Altering performances (persisting)

Question 6

Impulse

Answer 6

responses that often result from a mix between motivation and some activating stimulus. Unregulated and unplanned.

Question 7

goals

Answer 7

idealized future states that motivate pour behaviors and decisions.

Question 8

impulses vs goals

Answer 8

impulses are unregulated and unplanned. goals are future states planned and wanted.

Question 9

ego depletion

Answer 9

when self-control is temporary depleted through extortion. Tasks that require more self-control reduce the ability to retain further willpower in subsequent tasks.

Question 10

ego depletion debate

Answer 10

some argue that those who believe willpower is unlimited persist longer even in mentally exhaustive tasks. Therefore, we can argue that self-depletion can be a self-fulfilling prophecy where expectations shape outcome.

Question 11

Habit formation

Answer 11

Past behavior predicts future behaviors because certain behavioral sequences become automatic.

Question 12

How to support desired choices and behaviours (see notes for more details):

Answer 12

1. Have salient goals
2. Organise time and tasks
3. Make reminders
4. Choose situations that help good decisions
5. Envision your future self
6. Think of undesired behaviours as identities
7. institutions can help
8. Nudges or “choice architechture”

Question 13

save more tomorrow example

Answer 13

explaining how institutions can help make better decitions.

Saving is connected to loss aversion. When we save, we have to cut our spending.

a video of an institution making saving plans for when people increase their salaries, so that they dont have to cut spending, but save form future increases in income.

Question 14

Issues with nudging

Answer 14

ethical? Remove dignity? Prevents structural reforms. Used not for good?

Question 15

system 2 nudging

Answer 15

are more informing, explaining why. Its less effective.