Tutorial 8: Problem Solving and Decision Making

Question 1

Problem solving

Answer 1

Cognitive process (thinking) that is directed towards solving specific problems and that moves from an initial state to a goal state by means of set mental operations

Question 2

Heuristics

Answer 2

A rule of thumb or mental shortcut used in problem solving and decision making

• Automatic (operate without conscious effort)
• Can lead to errors (in the accuracy of our estimation of frequency and probability)
• But serve us well (most of the time)

Question 3

Availability heuristic

Answer 3

Tendency to use information that comes to mind quickly and easily when making decisions

• Can lead to errors if we rely on what springs to mind first

Question 4

Representativeness heutistic

Answer 4

Involves estimating the likelihood of an event by comparing it to an existing prototype that already exists in our minds

Question 5

Clinical implications of heuristics

Answer 5

Use them - Make things you want a person to use for decision-making vivid and accessible i.e. with repetition and visual language

Don’t fall for them - when making important decisions, pause and think as to why you are deciding as you are

• Info relevant?
• Recent headline?
• Can you gather more data to support your decision?

Question 6

Barriers to Problem Solving and Decision Making

Answer 6

• Distract attention
• Functional fixedness
• Unnecessary constraints
• Confirmation bias

1. Distract Attention: gets diverted from the task at hand by irrelevant information
2. Functional fixedness: The tendency to perceive an item only in terms of its most common use or seeing something only for what it is normally used for

Mental sets: exist when people persist in using strategies that have worked in the past but are no longer optimal

4. Unnecessary constraints: People often impose unnecessary constraints on possible solutions
5. Confirmation bias: the tendency for people to search for confirmation of what they already believe (and ignore evidence that contradicts their beliefs)

Question 7

Framing

Answer 7

The way that a choice is described

Is the emphasis on a positive (gain) or negative (loss)? e.g. advertising a product as 75% fate-free vs 25% content

Question 8

Framing effect

Answer 8

Cognitive bias in which individuals make decisions based on how the information is presented or framed rather than on the facts presented

• People react differently to a particular choice depending on if its framed as a gain or loss
• People are more risk averse when information is presented in a gain frame
• To avert a loss, people will make bolder, more aggressive decisions

Question 9

Gain frame

Answer 9

Likelihood of survival/success

Question 10

Loss frame

Answer 10

Likelihood of adverse reaction/mortality

Question 11

Algorithm

Answer 11

A step-by step procedure that always provides the right answer for a particular problem, when algorithms are unavailable we often rely on heuristics