The use of microworlds to study dynamic decision making

González, Cleotilde; Vanyukov, Polina M.; Martin, Michael K.

doi:10.1016/j.chb.2004.02.014

Cited by 192 publications

(154 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…Because DDM tasks have very specific abstract characteristics that are generalizable across many domains (Gonzalez, Vanyukov, & Martin, 2005), it is expected that results from this study could be reproduced with other DDM tasks; again, however, more empirical support is needed here.…”

Section: Limitationsmentioning

confidence: 87%

Task Workload and Cognitive Abilities in Dynamic Decision Making

González

2005

Hum Factors

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INTRODUCTIONDynamic decisions are real-time decisions that are interdependent and highly constrained by the decision-making environment (Edwards, 1962). For example, many large manufacturing and distribution systems store and disseminate information in real time about the status of the objects within the system. Decision makers then can use this information to alter the system as events unfold. Despite significant advances in information technology, the high information load generated by such dynamic environments continues to pose problems. For example, plane and automobile accidents are more likely to occur when the involved decision makers (i.e., pilots and drivers, respectively) are under heavy workloads.Excessive cognitive workload is generated when the satisfactory performance of a task demands more resources from the operator than are available at any given time. Although a wealth of research has been performed to evaluate the effects of task demands on human performance, little attention has been paid to the cognitive resources available or to the relationship between task demands and cognitive abilities as individuals acquire experience in a task. The focus of the present study was the relationship between human cognitive abilities and workload in a complex, dynamic decision-making (DDM) task. The experiments reported here enabled the manipulation of task workload experienced by participants and the assessment of participants' general intellectual ability in order to test the hypothesis that the effect of task workload on DDM depends on cognitive ability.A brief summary of research pertaining to the effects of cognitive workload on DDM appears in the following section, followed by the methods that describe the experiment and measures of cognitive abilities. Next, the results from collected data are reported. Finally, the results are discussed and their implications are presented. COGNITIVE WORKLOAD AND DYNAMIC DECISION MAKINGResearchers can manipulate task complexity in many ways, such as by altering the number of elements that demand a participant's attention, the number of intermediate decisions required to arrive at a solution, or the display duration (Ackerman, 1988). In general, the manipulation Task Workload and Cognitive Abilities in Dynamic Decision MakingCleotilde Gonzalez, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PennsylvaniaResearchers often treat workload as a task-dependent variable. To evaluate the effect of workload on individuals' performance, researchers commonly use several methods, such as varying the complexity or number of tasks that test participants are asked to handle or placing individuals under time constraints. Only rarely have researchers investigated workload as a variable dependent on individuals' cognitive abilities. This study investigated workload during dynamic decision making in terms of its dependence on both task workload and cognitive abilities. The findings demonstrate detrimental effects of both high task workload and low cognitive abilities. Further, the results sh...

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Section: Limitationsmentioning

confidence: 87%

Task Workload and Cognitive Abilities in Dynamic Decision Making

González

2005

Hum Factors

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“…This enables problem solvers to match their prior knowledge with the structural and procedural properties of the transfer problem, and, by assessing the similarity, they can bring relevant knowledge to bear on the task. Where dissociations are found (Berry & Broadbent, 1988;Dienes & Fahey, 1995, 1998, problem solvers learn without the benefit of hypothesis testing (e.g., Geddes & Stevenson, 1997;Gonzales, Vanyukov, & Martin, 2005;Sweller, 1988;Vollmeyer et al, 1996), and in some cases, through explicit instruction, are actively discouraged from doing so (e.g., Berry, 1991). Along with preventing associations between declarative and procedural knowledge, constraining hypothesis testing also appears to limit the extent to which control behaviors transfer.…”

Section: Successful Transfer Of Complex Control Behaviorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Positive transfer and negative transfer/antilearning of problem-solving skills.

Osman¹

2008

Journal of Experimental Psychology: General

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The present study examined how self-regulatory processes influenced problem solving behavior under conditions in which people were either re-exposed to their prior learning, or experienced someone else's. In a series of four experiments, participants solved two complex control tasks that were identical in structure but varied in presentation format. Participants either learnt to solve the second task, based on their original learning phase from the first task, or learnt to solve the second task based on another participant's learning phase. Experiment 1 showed that, under conditions in which participants' learning phase was experienced twice, performance deteriorated in the second task compared to the first. In contrast, when the learning phases in the first and second task differed, performance improved in the second task.Experiment 2 introduced instructional manipulations that induced the same response patterns as Experiment 1, and Experiment 3 showed that participants differentially weighted the learning phase in the second task. In Experiment 4, judgments of selfefficacy were shown to track control performance. The implications of these findings for induction, self-regulation, and insight are discussed. examples share a precise goal that involves accurately and reliably controlling a complex dynamic control task (CDCT-i.e., the aircraft). Control behavior in this, and other types of CDCTs (e.g., air-traffic control, naval mine sweeping, car driving) depends on the development of expertise (e.g., Brehmer, 1992;Funke, 2001; Gonzalez, Lerch, & Lebiere, 2003;Kerstholt, 1996;Randel & Pugh, 1996;Sweller, 1988;.Expertise involves both monitoring-through self-evaluation of goal-directed actions (e.g., Bandura & Locke, 2003; Ericsson & Lehman, 1996;Karoly, 1993;Lerch & Harter, 2001;Rossano, 2003;VanLehn, 1996)-and control, or the generation and selection of goal-directed actions (e.g., Lerch & Harter, 2001; Locke & Latham, 2002;Rossano, 2003;Sweller, 1988;VanLehn, 1996;Vollmeyer, Burns, & Holyoak, 1996). Both behaviors are also interrelated (e.g., Bandura & Locke, 2003; Ericsson & Lehman, 1996;Karoly, 1993;Lerch & Harter, 2001;Rossano, 2003;VanLehn, 1996). However, studies of skill learning in CDCTs have overlooked this relationship, particularly how it influences the transferability of expertise (e.g., Berry, 1991;Berry & Broadbent, 1988;Burns & Vollmeyer, 2002). Without an Anti-Learning 5 understanding of how individuals monitor their behavior, little can be said about how evaluative processes are employed when transferring learnt skills to achieve unpracticed goals.For instance, the critical difference between the examples above is that, in the first case, training (i.e., control performance) and assessment (i.e., monitoring) are based on self-generated behavior; whereas, in the second, assessment is based on comparing self-and other-generated training behavior. These types of training procedures are often used in educational (Pintrich & De Groot, 1990;Pressley, & Ghatala, 1990;Zimmerman, 1990), clin...

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“…WPP embodies the integral characteristics of all DDM tasks (Brehmer & Dörner, 1993;Gonzalez et al, 2005). First, WPP is a dynamic resource allocation task.…”

Section: Water Puriwcation Plant: a Ddm Taskmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Research indicates that feedback interventions may beneWt individuals' performance of simple tasks but not of complex tasks, of tasks that demand low rather than high cognitive ability, and of well-practiced tasks but not novel ones (Kluger & DeNisi, 1996). These are discouraging results for researchers studying DDM support, because most DDM tasks are complex, demand high cognitive ability even after extensive task practice, and present decision makers with constantly changing and novel stimuli (Ackerman, 1992;Brehmer & Dörner, 1993;Gonzalez, Vanyukov, & Martin, 2005;Lerch & Harter, 2001) The study reported here examined forms of decision support that appear to address the real-time constraints of DDM and the learning-process demands of DDM. It has been argued that achieving an improved understanding of individuals' learning processes will enable researchers to better understand performance in DDM tasks (and, subsequently, to design eVective forms of decision support) (Gibson, Fichman, & Plaut, 1997;Gonzalez, Lerch, & Lebiere, 2003).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%