Question 1

Which statement is not a reason motivating the study of decision making as it relates to human factors?

Accepted Answer

The statement "it can ensure decision makers don't make errors" is not a valid reason motivating the study of decision making as it is not realistic to expect humans to make no errors in their decision making processes. In fact, understanding the types of errors decision makers are prone to making and designing decision aids and optimizing information presentation can help reduce but not eliminate errors.

Question 2

Which of the following statements is correct?

Accepted Answer

According to research, decision errors are a causal factor in 30% of General Aviation (GA) accidents, making statement B correct. Statements A, C, and D are incorrect. Decision errors can have a significant impact on emergency medical services (EMS) operations, weather-related aviation accidents, and the decision-making process can be improved through training.

Question 3

Which of the following is not a weakness of Normative models of decision making

Accepted Answer

Normative models are designed to identify optimal choices, so this cannot be considered a weakness. A, B, and C are all commonly cited weaknesses of normative models.

Question 4

The fictional character Sherlock Holmes is an example of

Accepted Answer

The answer of The fictional character Sherlock Holmes is an...

Question 5

The term __________ refers to the overall value of a choice or how much each outcome or product is "worth" to the decision maker.

Accepted Answer

Utility is the term used to describe the overall value of a choice or the worth of each outcome or product to the decision maker. It is a key concept in economics and decision theory, reflecting the satisfaction or benefit derived from a good or service.

Question 6

The concept of utility is central to Normative models of decision making. Which normative model acknowledges that the values individual assigns to potential outcomes may be unique and dependent on their particular goals?

Accepted Answer

Multiattribute Utility Theory acknowledges that individuals may assign unique values to potential outcomes based on their specific goals or preferences. Expected Value Theory and Objective Expected Utility assume that individuals have a universal set of values for potential outcomes, while Subjective Expected Utility takes into account an individual's beliefs about the likelihood of different outcomes.

Question 7

Decision makers may rely on rules of thumb or heuristics to make decision when

Accepted Answer

Decision makers may rely on rules of thumb or heuristics when cognitive demands are high, time pressure is great, or when the number of alternatives the decision maker must decide between is large. Therefore, all of the above options are correct.

Question 8

Sue is buying a car and overwhelmed by the number of cars. To simplify the decision process she decides to eliminate all vehicles that are not trucks. Sue is applying

Accepted Answer

Sue is using the elimination by aspects heuristic by eliminating all vehicles that are not trucks. This means she is eliminating options based on one specific aspect (in this case, whether or not the vehicle is a truck) and using that as a criteria for making a decision.

Question 9

John is trying to decide among different cell phones and decides to selection one that is not exactly what he wanted but is good enough. This is an example of

Accepted Answer

John is using the satisficing strategy, which means he is not searching for the best option but instead opting for a good enough option that meets his minimum requirements. This is different from the elimination by aspects heuristic, which involves eliminating options that don't meet certain criteria, and the compensatory strategy, which involves weighing the pros and cons of each option. The availability heuristic involves making a decision based on the most easily available information.

Question 10

The availability heuristic refers to the observation that

Accepted Answer

The availability heuristic refers to the cognitive bias in which people make judgments about the likelihood of an event based on how easily examples come to mind. As a result, people often overestimate the frequency and likelihood of events that are more easily accessible in their memory, such as those that are recent, vivid, or emotionally charged. Option A is not relevant to the availability heuristic, and option B describes the representativeness heuristic. Option D is incorrect as well.

Question 11

This approach attempts to identify the decision making process of highly skilled practitioners engaged in real world decision making.

Accepted Answer

Naturalistic decision making involves understanding the decision making process of experts in their real world environments. It emphasizes the importance of experience, intuition, and contextual factors in decision making, rather than relying solely on rational or normative approaches.

Question 12

According to Naturalistic Decision making

Accepted Answer

Naturalistic Decision Making (NDM) research shows that in their field of expertise, experts often rely on their experience to make decisions. They use mental simulation (A), avoid complex evaluations in favor of intuitive judgment (B), and recognize patterns based on past experiences to guide their actions (C), which are all strategies described in NDM literature.

Question 13

The systematic flaws and deviations from rational decision making are called

Accepted Answer

The systematic flaws and deviations from rational decision making are called biases. Heuristics and shortcuts refer to methods people use to make decisions, while calling it "dumb" is subjective and not an accurate description of the phenomenon.

Question 14

The tendency to stay fixated on a particular hypothesis, to continue looking for clues consistent with it is referred to as

Accepted Answer

The tendency to stay fixated on a particular hypothesis and to continue looking for clues consistent with it is known as confirmation bias.

Question 15

John is watching a football game and cant' believe what just happened-a pass was intercepted by the opposing team. He can't fathom how the player decided to pass because it was so obvious what was going to happen. John is demonstrating

Accepted Answer

John's belief that he could have predicted the interception is an example of hindsight bias, which is the tendency to believe, after an event has occurred, that one would have predicted or expected the outcome.

Question 16

Research suggests that the placement of sales prices on cars or homes may affect the final agreed upon price between the buyer and seller. More specifically, the negotiated price tends to be biased toward the sales price originally posted on the car or house. This is an example of

Accepted Answer

This is an example of anchoring, where the initial price presented (the anchor) serves as a reference point for negotiation and biases the final agreed upon price.

Question 17

The anchoring effect has been shown to be influenced by ______ and the _____.

Accepted Answer

The anchoring effect is influenced by cue saliency, which refers to the prominence or attention-grabbing quality of a particular piece of information. This can be seen in the primacy effect, where the first piece of information presented has a stronger impact on subsequent judgments or decisions.

Question 18

Steve is a software engineer. His manager has asked him to estimate how long it would take him to complete the programing of a cell phone APP. Steve's estimate proves to be overly optimistic. His estimate was likely influenced by

Accepted Answer

Overconfidence bias refers to the tendency for individuals to have excessive confidence in their ability to estimate or predict outcomes. Steve's overly optimistic estimate indicates he may have been affected by this bias.

Question 19

Payne and Bettman et al., (1988) used a computer to simulate normative and non-normative decision processes under conditions of time pressure. Their research findings show that

Accepted Answer

Non-normative strategies, despite not following traditional or "normative" decision-making models, can lead to decisions that are comparable to or even better than those produced by normative strategies, as found by Payne and Bettman et al. in their research.

Question 20

What is the role of Metacognition in decision making?

Accepted Answer

Metacognition plays a key role in decision making by helping individuals anticipate the effort required for a decision, anticipate the accuracy of different decision-making approaches, and recognize the appropriate decision-making strategy. Therefore, all of the options presented are correct.

Quiz 7: Decision-Making