Bias

Bias Heuristics and Bias A major concern with some researchers is whether the thought processes involved in decision making are suitable for producing the best outcomes. However, a wealth of evidence indicates that people do not generally think in the way rational principles are described by decision theory. This implies to some researchers that people require education in decision-making techniques (e.g. Baron and Brown 1991), but there are some who question the appropriateness of those models and claim that simpler processes can be highly successful. For tasks that have an answer, the rational model of decision-making can be used to determine the optimal one. Multiple criteria can complicate the rational model. The decision maker must assign weights to these criteria of how important each is compared to the others. While the decision still appears to fit the rational model, assumptions have been built into the solution. Criterion weights are assumptions because they are based on the values and preferences of the decision maker. A focus on biases and rhetoric of irrationally (Lopes, 1991) has overshadowed the idea of heuristics, which is that they were useful in providing reasonable solutions, given our limited cognitive capacity. Simon (1956) criticized rational models of decision making for decision, making, rational, people, research, model, information, simple, maker, make, judgment, heuristics, because, 1991, time, thinking, theory, stock, simon, psychology, press, one, new, models, makers, knowledge, idea, example, don’t, decisions, course, chance, called, biases, answer