Decision making can be regarded as an outcome of mental processes (cognitive process) leading to the selection of a course of action among several alternatives. Neuropsychology is the applied scientific discipline that studies the structure and function of the Brain related to specific psychological processes and overt behaviors A brain-computer interface (BCI sometimes called a direct neural interface or a brain-machine interface, is a direct communication pathway between a human or animal Traumatic brain injury (TBI also called intracranial injury, occurs when Physical trauma injures the Brain. Anatomical regions of the brain are listed vertically following hierarchies that are standard in Neuroanatomy. Clinical neuropsychology is a sub-specialty of clinical Psychology that specialises in the diagnostic assessment and treatment of patients with Brain injury or Cognitive neuroscience is an academic field concerned with the scientific study of biological substrate underlying Cognition, with a specific focus on the neural substrates The human brain controls the Central nervous system (CNS by way of the Cranial nerves and Spinal cord, the Peripheral nervous system (PNS Neuroanatomy is the science for localizing function in the Human brain. Neurophysiology (from Greek grc νεῦρον neuron, "nerve" grc φύσις physis, "nature origin" and grc -λογία Phrenology (from Greek: φρήν phrēn, "mind" and λόγος Logos, "knowledge" is a defunct field of study once The human brain controls the Central nervous system (CNS by way of the Cranial nerves and Spinal cord, the Peripheral nervous system (PNS Wikipedia articles related to Brain Function Visual system Auditory system Olfactory system Arousal is a physiological and psychological state of being awake Attention is the Cognitive process of selectively concentrating on one aspect of the environment while ignoring other things Consciousness has been defined loosely as a constellation of attributes of Mind such as Subjectivity, Self-awareness, Sentience, and the The executive system is a theorized Cognitive system in Psychology that controls and manages other cognitive processes In the Philosophy of language, a natural language (or ordinary language) is a Language that is spoken or written in phonemic-alphabetic or phonemically-related In the fields of Neuropsychology, Personal development and Education, Learning is one of the most important Mental function of humans In Psychology, memory is an organism's ability to store retain and subsequently retrieve information Gross motor coordination addresses the Gross motor skills walking running climbing jumping crawling lifting one's head sitting up etc In Psychology and the Cognitive sciences perception is the process of attaining awareness or understanding of sensory Information. Planning in Organizations and Public policy is both the organizational process of creating and maintaining a Plan; and the psychological process of Problem solving forms part of thinking. Considered the most complex of all intellectual functions problem solving has been defined as higher-order Cognitive Thought and thinking are mental forms and Processes respectively ("thought" is both David Joseph Bohm ( December 20 1917, Wilkes-Barre Pennsylvania – October 27 1992, London) was an American António Rosa Damásio, GOSE, pron. ɐ̃'tɔniu dɐ'maziu (ɐ̃'tɔniu dɐ'maziu (b Phineas P Gage (July 9? 1823 – May 21? 1860 was a railroad worker now remembered for his incredible survival of a Traumatic brain injury which destroyed one or both of Norman Geschwind (1926-1984 can be considered the father of modern Behavioral neurology in America Elkhonon Goldberg (b 1946 Riga, Latvia) is a Neuropsychologist and Cognitive neuroscientist known for his work in hemispheric specialization Donald Olding Hebb ( July 22, 1904 &ndash August 20, 1985) was a Canadian Psychologist who was influential in the area of Neuropsychology Kenneth M Heilman is an American Behavioral neurologist. Biography Early life and career Kenneth Heilman was born and raised in Brooklyn Muriel Deutsch Lezak is an American neuropsychologist best known for her book Neuropsychological Assessment, widely accepted as the standard in the field Benjamin Libet ( April 12, 1916 - July 23, 2007) was a researcher in the Physiology department of the University of California Rodolfo R Llinás (b Bogotá, Colombia in 1934 is the Thomas and Suzanne Murphy Professor of Neuroscience and Chairman of the department of Physiology & Neuroscience Alexander Romanovich Luria Александр Романович Лурия ( July 16, 1902 - August 14, 1977) was a famous Soviet Dr Brenda Milner CC FRS (born 15 July 1918, Manchester England) has contributed extensively to the research literature Karl H Pribram (born February 25, 1919 in Vienna Austria) is a professor at Georgetown University and George Mason University Oliver Wolf Sacks, CBE (born July 9, 1933, London is a British Neurologist residing in the United States who has written popular books about Roger Wolcott Sperry ( August 20, 1913 – April 17, 1994) was a neuropsychologist, neurobiologist and Nobel laureate who KC (Also known as Patient KC) is a famous patient in Neuropsychology who suffers from Anterograde amnesia and temporally graded Retrograde amnesia Neuropsychological tests are specifically designed tasks used to measure a psychological function known to be linked to a particular Brain structure or pathway The Bender Visual Motor Gestalt Test, or simply the Bender-Gestalt test, is a Psychological test first developed by child Neuropsychiatrist Lauretta The Benton Visual Retention Test (or simply Benton Test) is an individually administered test for ages 8-adult that measures Visual perception and Visual memory The Clinical Dementia Rating or CDR is a numeric scale used to quantify the severity of Symptoms of Dementia (i A Continuous Performance Task/Test, or CPT, is a Psychological test which measures a person's sustained and selective Attention and impulsivity The Glasgow Coma Scale or GCS, sometimes also known as the Glasgow Coma Score is a neurological scale which aims to give a reliable objective The Hayling and Brixton tests are Neuropsychological tests of Executive function created by psychologists Paul W The lexical decision task is a procedure used in many Psychology and Psycholinguistics experiments The mini-mental state examination ( MMSE) or Folstein test is a brief 30-point questionnaire test that is used to assess Cognition. Demonstration Say aloud the colors of each of these words as fast Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS is a general test of intelligence ( IQ) published in February 1955 as a revision of the Wechsler - Bellevue test The Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST is a Neuropsychological test of "set-shifting" i A Johari window is a cognitive psychological tool created by Joseph Luft and Harry Ingham in 1955 in the United States used to help people better understand Cognition is a concept used in different ways by different disciplines but is generally accepted to mean the process of awareness or thought Every decision making process produces a final choice. Choice consists of the mental process of Thinking involved with the process of judging the merits of multiple options and selecting [1] The output can be an action or an opinion.
Human performance in decision making terms has been subject of active research from several perspectives. From a psychological perspective, it is necessary to examine individual decisions in the context of a set of needs, preferences an individual has and values he/she seeks. From a cognitive perspective, the decision making process must be regarded as a continuous process integrated in the interaction with the environment. From a normative perspective, the analysis of individual decisions is concerned with the logic of decision making and rationality and the invariant choice it leads to. [2]
Yet, at another level, it might be regarded as a problem solving activity which is terminated when a satisfactory solution is found. Therefore, decision making is a reasoning or emotional process which can be rational or irrational, can be based on explicit assumptions or tacit assumptions. A tacit assumption or implicit assumption is an assumption that includes the underlying agreements or statements made in the development of a Logical argument,
Logical decision making is an important part of all science-based professions, where specialists apply their knowledge in a given area to making informed decisions. Knowledge is defined ( Oxford English Dictionary) variously as (i expertise and skills acquired by a person through experience or education the theoretical or practical understanding For example, medical decision making often involves making a diagnosis and selecting an appropriate treatment. Diagnosis is the identification by Process of elimination, of the nature of anything Some research using naturalistic methods shows, however, that in situations with higher time pressure, higher stakes, or increased ambiguities, experts use intuitive decision making rather than structured approaches, following a recognition primed decision approach to fit a set of indicators into the expert's experience and immediately arrive at a satisfactory course of action without weighing alternatives. The naturalistic decision making (NDM framework emerged as a means of studying how people actually make Decisions and perform cognitively complex functions in demanding situations Recognition-primed decision (RPD is a model of how people make quick effective decisions when faced with complex situations Also, recent robust decision efforts have formally integrated uncertainty into the decision making process. Robust decision is a term dating back to the late 1990s It is used to identify decisions made with a process that includes formal consideration of uncertainty Uncertainty is a term used in subtly different ways in a number of fields including Philosophy, Statistics, Economics, Finance, Insurance
Contents |
Factors influencing decision making processes
According to behavioralist Isabel Briggs Myers, a person's decision making process depends on a significant degree on their cognitive style. Isabel Briggs Myers ( 18 October 1897 &ndash May 5, 1980[http //www [3] Myers developed a set of four bi-polar dimensions, called the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI assessment is a psychometric questionnaire designed to measure psychological preferences in how people perceive the world and make decisions The terminal points on these dimensions are: thinking and feeling; extroversion and introversion; judgement and perception; and sensing and intuition. She claimed that a person's decision making style is based largely on how they score on these four dimensions. For example, someone who scored near the thinking, extroversion, sensing, and judgement ends of the dimensions would tend to have a logical, analytical, objective, critical, and empirical decision making style.
Other studies suggest that these national or cross-cultural differences exist across entire societies. For example, Maris Martinsons has found that American, Japanese and Chinese business leaders each exhibit a distinctive national style of decision making. Maris Martinsons is director of the Pacific Rim Institute for the Studies of Management and a professor of Management currently associated with the City University [4]
Cognitive and personal biases
Some of the decision making techniques that we use in everyday life include:
- listing the advantages and disadvantages of each option, popularized by Plato and Benjamin Franklin
- flipping a coin, cutting a deck of playing cards, and other random or coincidence methods
- accepting the first option that seems like it might achieve the desired result
- prayer, tarot cards, astrology, augurs, revelation, or other forms of divination
- acquiesce to a person in authority or an "expert"
- calculating the expected value or utility for each option. Biography Early life Birth and family Plato was born in Athens Greece Benjamin Franklin ( April 17 1790 was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States of America. Prayer is the act of attempting to communicate with a Deity or spirit The tarot (also known as tarocchi, tarock or similar names is typically a set of seventy-eight cards comprised of twenty-one trump cards, one Astrology (from Greek grc ἄστρον astron, "constellation star" and grc -λογία -logia) is a group of Systems The Augur was a priest and official in the classical world especially Ancient Rome and Etruria. Revelation is the act of revealing or disclosing (see etymology or in the theological perception making something obvious and clearly understood through active or passive communication Divination (from Latin divinare "to be inspired by a god" related to Divine, Diva and Deus) is the attempt of ascertaining In Economics, utility is a measure of the relative satisfaction from or desirability of Consumption of various Goods and services.
For example, a person is considering two jobs. At the first job option the person has a 60% chance of getting a 30% raise in the first year. And at the second job option the person has an 80% chance of getting a 10% raise in the first year. The decision maker would calculate the expected value of each option, calculating the probability multiplied by the increase of value. (0. 60*0. 30=0. 18 [option a] 0. 80*0. 10=0. 08 [option b]) The person deciding on the job would chose the option with the highest expected value, in this example option number one. An alternative may be to apply one of the processes described below, in particular in the Business and Management section.
Biases can creep into our decision making processes. Bias is a term used to describe a Tendency or Preference towards a particular perspective, Ideology or result especially when the tendency interferes Many different people have made a decision about the same question (e. g. "Should I have a doctor look at this troubling breast cancer symptom I've discovered?" "Why did I ignore the evidence that the project was going over budget?") and then craft potential cognitive interventions aimed at improving decision making outcomes.
Below is a list of some of the more commonly debated cognitive biases. A Cognitive bias is a pattern of deviation in judgement that occurs in particular situations (see also Cognitive distortion and the Lists of thinking-related topics
- Selective search for evidence (a. Evidence in its broadest sense includes anything that is used to determine or demonstrate the Truth of an assertion k. a. Confirmation bias in psychology) (Plous, 1993) - We tend to be willing to gather facts that support certain conclusions but disregard other facts that support different conclusions. In Psychology and Cognitive science, confirmation bias is a tendency to search for or interpret new information in a way that confirms one's preconceptions and avoids
- Premature termination of search for evidence - We tend to accept the first alternative that looks like it might work.
- Inertia - Unwillingness to change thought patterns that we have used in the past in the face of new circumstances.
- Selective perception - We actively screen-out information that we do not think is salient. (See prejudice. The word prejudice refers to prejudgment making a decision before becoming aware of the relevant facts of a case or event )
- Wishful thinking or optimism bias - We tend to want to see things in a positive light and this can distort our perception and thinking. Wishful thinking is the formation of Beliefs and making decisions according to what might be pleasing to imagine instead of by appealing to Evidence or Optimism bias is the demonstrated systematic tendency for people to be over-optimistic about the outcome of planned actions
- Choice-supportive bias occurs when we distort our memories of chosen and rejected options to make the chosen options seem relatively more attractive. In Cognitive science, choice-supportive bias is a tendency to retroactively ascribe positive attributes to an option one has selected
- Recency - We tend to place more attention on more recent information and either ignore or forget more distant information. (See semantic priming. ) The opposite effect in the first set of data or other information is termed Primacy effect (Plous, 1993). The serial position effect refers to the finding that recall accuracy varies as a function of an item's position within a study list
- Repetition bias - A willingness to believe what we have been told most often and by the greatest number of different of sources.
- Anchoring and adjustment - Decisions are unduly influenced by initial information that shapes our view of subsequent information. Anchoring or focalism is a Cognitive bias that describes the common human tendency to rely too heavily or "anchor" on one trait or piece of information
- Group think - Peer pressure to conform to the opinions held by the group. Groupthink is a type of thought exhibited by group members who try to minimize conflict and reach consensus without critically testing analyzing and evaluating ideas Peer Pressure is a term describing the pressure exerted by a Peer group in encouraging a person to change their Attitude, Behavior and/or Morals
- Source credibility bias - We reject something if we have a bias against the person, organization, or group to which the person belongs: We are inclined to accept a statement by someone we like. (See prejudice. The word prejudice refers to prejudgment making a decision before becoming aware of the relevant facts of a case or event )
- Incremental decision making and escalating commitment - We look at a decision as a small step in a process and this tends to perpetuate a series of similar decisions. This can be contrasted with zero-based decision making. (See slippery slope. Slippery Slope is a 2006 independent film starring Tony Award -winning actor Dan Fogler. )
- Attribution asymmetry - We tend to attribute our success to our abilities and talents, but we attribute our failures to bad luck and external factors. Attribution theory is a Social psychology theory developed by Fritz Heider, Harold Kelley, Edward E We attribute other's success to good luck, and their failures to their mistakes.
- Role fulfillment (Self Fulfilling Prophecy) - We conform to the decision making expectations that others have of someone in our position.
- Underestimating uncertainty and the illusion of control - We tend to underestimate future uncertainty because we tend to believe we have more control over events than we really do. Uncertainty is a term used in subtly different ways in a number of fields including Philosophy, Statistics, Economics, Finance, Insurance Uncertainty is a term used in subtly different ways in a number of fields including Philosophy, Statistics, Economics, Finance, Insurance We believe we have control to minimize potential problems in our decisions.
Neuroscience perspective of decision making
The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and orbitofrontal cortex are brain regions involved in decision making processes. The Anterior cingulate cortex (ACC is the frontal part of the Cingulate cortex, which resembles a "collar" form around the Corpus callosum, the fibrous The orbitofrontal cortex (OFC is a region of association cortex of the Human brain involved in cognitive processes such as Decision-making. A recent neuroimaging study, Interactions between decision making and performance monitoring within prefrontal cortex, found distinctive patterns of neural activation in these regions depending on whether decisions were made on the basis of personal volition or following directions from someone else. Neuroimaging includes the use of various techniques to either directly or indirectly image the structure, function/ Pharmacology of the Brain
Another recent study by Kennerly, et al. (2006) found that lesions to the ACC in the macaque resulted in impaired decision making in the long run of reinforcement guided tasks suggesting that the ACC is responsible for evaluating past reinforcement information and guiding future action. The macaques (məˈkæk constitute a genus ( Macaca, /məˈkækə/ of Old World monkeys of the subfamily Cercopithecinae.
Emotion appears to aid the decision making process:
- Decision making often occurs in the face of uncertainty about whether one's choices will lead to benefit or harm (see also Risk). An emotion is a mental and physiological state associated with a wide variety of feelings thoughts and behaviours Uncertainty is a term used in subtly different ways in a number of fields including Philosophy, Statistics, Economics, Finance, Insurance Risk is a Concept that denotes the precise probability of specific eventualities The somatic-marker hypothesis is a neurobiological theory of how decisions are made in the face of uncertain outcome. This theory holds that such decisions are aided by emotions, in the form of bodily states, that are elicited during the deliberation of future consequences and that mark different options for behavior as being advantageous or disadvantageous. This process involves an interplay between neural systems that elicit emotional/bodily states and neural systems that map these emotional/bodily states. [2].
Styles and methods of decision making
Positional and combinational styles
Styles and methods of decision making were elaborated by the founder of Predispositioning Theory, Aron Katsenelinboigen. Predispositioning Theory was founded by Aron Katsenelinboigen (1927–2005 a Professor in Wharton School who dealt with indeterministic Systems such as Aron Katsenelinboigen, ( September 2, 1927 - July 30, 2005) a founder of Predispositioning Theory, was born in September 1927 in a In his analysis on styles and methods Katsenelinboigen referred to the game of chess, saying that “chess does disclose various methods of operation, notably the creation of predisposition—methods which may be applicable to other, more complex systems. ”[5]
In his book Katsenelinboigen states that apart from the methods (reactive and selective) and sub-methods (randomization, predispositioning, programming), there are two major styles – positional and combinational. Both styles are utilized in the game of chess. According to Katsenelinboigen, the two styles reflect two basic approaches to the uncertainty: deterministic (combinational style) and indeterministic (positional style). Uncertainty is a term used in subtly different ways in a number of fields including Philosophy, Statistics, Economics, Finance, Insurance Katsenelinboigen’s definition of the two styles are the following.
The combinational style is characterized by
- a very narrow, clearly defined, primarily material goal, and
- a program that links the initial position with the final outcome.
In defining the combinational style in chess, Katsenelinboigen writes:
The combinational style features a clearly formulated limited objective, namely the capture of material (the main constituent element of a chess position). The objective is implemented via a well defined and in some cases in a unique sequence of moves aimed at reaching the set goal. As a rule, this sequence leaves no options for the opponent. Finding a combinational objective allows the player to focus all his energies on efficient execution, that is, the player’s analysis may be limited to the pieces directly partaking in the combination. This approach is the crux of the combination and the combinational style of play. [5]
The positional style is distinguished by
- a positional goal and
- a formation of semi-complete linkages between the initial step and final outcome.
“Unlike the combinational player, the positional player is occupied, first and foremost, with the elaboration of the position that will allow him to develop in the unknown future. In playing the positional style, the player must evaluate relational and material parameters as independent variables. ( … ) The positional style gives the player the opportunity to develop a position until it becomes pregnant with a combination. However, the combination is not the final goal of the positional player—it helps him to achieve the desirable, keeping in mind a predisposition for the future development. The Pyrrhic victory is the best example of one’s inability to think positionally. ”[6]
The positional style serves to
a) create a predisposition to the future development of the position;
b) induce the environment in a certain way;
c) absorb an unexpected outcome in one’s favor;
d) avoid the negative aspects of unexpected outcomes.
The positional style gives the player the opportunity to develop a position until it becomes pregnant with a combination. Katsenelinboigen writes:
“As the game progressed and defense became more sophisticated the combinational style of play declined. . . . The positional style of chess does not eliminate the combinational one with its attempt to see the entire program of action in advance. The positional style merely prepares the transformation to a combination when the latter becomes feasible. ”[7]
References
- ^ James Reason (1990). Human Error. Ashgate. ISBN 1840141042.
- ^ Daniel Kahneman, Amos Tversky (2000). Choice, Values, Frames. The Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521621720.
- ^ Isabel Briggs Myers|Myers, I. (1962) Introduction to Type: A description of the theory and applications of the Myers-Briggs type indicator, Consulting Psychologists Press, Palo Alto Ca. , 1962.
- ^ Martinsons, Maris G. , Comparing the Decision Styles of American, Chinese and Japanese Business Leaders. Best Paper Proceedings of Academy of Management Meetings, Washington, DC, August 2001 [1]
- ^ a b Katsenelinboigen, Aron. The Concept of Indeterminism and Its Applications: Economics, Social Systems, Ethics, Artificial Intelligence, and Aesthetics Praeger: Westport, Connecticut, 1997, p. 6)
- ^ V. Ulea, The Concept of Dramatic Genre and The Comedy of A New Type. Chess, Literature, and Film. Southern Illinois University Press, 2002, p. p. 17-18])
- ^ Selected Topics in Indeterministic Systems Intersystems Publications: California, 1989, p. 21
Further readings
- Facione, P. and Facione, N. (2007), Thinking and Reasoning in Human Decision Making
- Plous, S. The Psychology of Judgement and Decision Making New York: McGraw-Hill, 1993
- Ullman, D. G. , Making Robust Decisions Trafford, 2006
- Levin, Mark Sh. , Composite Systems Decisions, New York: Springer, 2006.
See also
External links
- Emotional and Decision Making Lab, Carnegie Mellon, EDM Lab
- The de Borda Institute - Emerson, P J. An Argument map is a visual representation of the structure of an Argument in Informal logic. Business Decision Mapping (BDM is a technique for making Decisions, particularly the kind of decisions that often need to be made in Business. Cognition is a concept used in different ways by different disciplines but is generally accepted to mean the process of awareness or thought Collaborative intelligence is a measure of the collaborative ability of a group or entity Decision theory in Mathematics and Statistics is concerned with identifying the Values uncertainties and other issues relevant in a given Critical thinking consists of mental processes of discernment, Analysis and Evaluation. One of the most common theories in the field of Decision making is the expected utility theory (EU. Forecasting is the process of Estimation in unknown situations Groupthink is a type of thought exhibited by group members who try to minimize conflict and reach consensus without critically testing analyzing and evaluating ideas Linear partial information (LPI is a method of making decisions based on insufficient or Fuzzy Information. Majoritarianism is a traditional Political philosophy or agenda which asserts that a Majority (sometimes categorized by Religion, Language, or Majority rule is a decision rule that makes one of two alternatives the "winner" based on which has more than half the votes A mindset, in Decision theory and general systems theory, refers to a Set of assumptions methods or notations held by one or more people or groups Minoritarianism is a Neologism, closely related to the term minority rule, both of which describe a Political philosophy or agenda which asserts that Morphological analysis can refer to Morphological analysis (problem-solving or general morphological analysis a method developed by Fritz Zwicky for exploring Multiscale decision making is a newly developed approach in Operations Research that fuses Game theory, multi-agent Influence diagrams in particular Online deliberation is a term associated with an emerging body of practice research and software dedicated to fostering serious purposive discussion over the Internet Optimism bias is the demonstrated systematic tendency for people to be over-optimistic about the outcome of planned actions Path-dependence explains how the set of decisions one faces for any given circumstance is limited by the decisions one has made in the past even though past circumstances may no longer Risk is a Concept that denotes the precise probability of specific eventualities For non-business risks see Risk or the disambiguation page Risk analysis. The planning fallacy is the tendency to underestimate task-completion times Public choice in economic theory is the use of modern Economic tools to study problems that are traditionally in the province of Political science. In Administrative law, rulemaking refers to the process that executive and independent agencies use to create or promulgate, The Society for Judgment and Decision Making is an interdisciplinary academic organization dedicated to the study of normative descriptive and prescriptive theories of decision Uncertainty is a term used in subtly different ways in a number of fields including Philosophy, Statistics, Economics, Finance, Insurance In Economics, utility is a measure of the relative satisfaction from or desirability of Consumption of various Goods and services. This is a list of thinking styles, methods of thinking (thinking skills and types of Thought. Situation awareness, or SA is the perception of environmental elements within a volume of time and space the comprehension of their meaning and the projection of their status in the People have different ways of making Decisions. Inactive decision making is delaying a decision in the hope that the situation will resolve itself Beyond the Tyranny of the Majority, a comparison of the more common voting procedures used in both decision making and elections.
- Decision Analysis in Health Care - An online course from George Mason University providing free lectures and tools for decision making in health care.
- Infrastructure Risk Research Project at The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic