The Ecological Rationality of Situations

2019 ◽  
pp. 142-158
Author(s):  
Peter M. Todd ◽  
Gerd Gigerenzer
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Research Program ◽  
Behavioral Outcomes ◽  
Ecological Rationality ◽  
Decision Heuristics ◽  
Situation Theory ◽  
Personality Differences ◽  
Individual Personality ◽  
Precise Mapping ◽  
Adaptive Toolbox

The study of situations involves asking how people behave in particular environmental settings, often in terms of their individual personality differences. The ecological rationality research program explains people’s behavior in terms of the specific decision-making tools they select and use from their mind’s adaptive toolbox when faced with specific types of environment structure. These two approaches can be integrated to provide a more precise mapping from features of situation structure to decision heuristics used and behavioral outcomes. This chapter presents three examples illustrating research on ecological rationality and its foundations, along with initial directions for incorporating it into an integrated situation theory.

scholarly journals Poder, incerteza e heurísticas: contribuições da psicologia cognitiva para o estudo da tomada de decisões nas Relações Internacionais

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 353-384
Author(s):  
Bruno Maciel Santos
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
International Relations ◽  
The Other ◽  
Ecological Rationality ◽  
Formal Concept ◽  
Power Relationships ◽  
Decision Heuristics ◽  
The Many ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Shed Light

A falta de consenso sobre uma definição de poder e sobre como lidar com a incerteza nas Relações Internacionais são problemas antigos nessa disciplina. Este artigo apresenta algumas contribuições da psicologia cognitiva relacionadas ao uso de heurísticas decisórias para as discussões acerca do conceito de poder e relacionadas à incerteza no campo das Relações Internacionais. Para tanto, realiza-se uma revisão das visões divergentes acerca do conceito do poder e da incerteza entre os três paradigmas mais influentes nas Relações Internacionais, apresentando como cada um deles define esses dois conceitos e quais as implicações teóricas dessas visões. Apesar de várias definições operacionais, é possível que o conceito formal de poder apresentado por Dahl (1957) seja utilizado como referência para as quatro faces do poder apresentadas. No entanto, essa definição implica necessariamente algum grau de incerteza nas relações de poder, relacionadas à informação, seja pela sua disponibilidade, pela sua confiabilidade, pela ambiguidade ou pela sua subjetividade. Sendo assim, apresenta-se as heurísticas decisórias como forma de lidar com a tomada de decisão em situações de incerteza envolvendo relações de poder, a partir de uma racionalidade circunscrita e ecológica. Essa abordagem é uma, dentre várias possíveis, e não busca impor termos absolutos para a discussão, nem negar as várias contribuições teóricas feitas pelas demais abordagens discutidas, mas sim destacar alguns pontos negligenciados e apresentar novas possibilidades de análise no campo das Relações Internacionais.     Abstract: The lack of agreement about a definition of power and how to deal with uncertainty in the International Relations are long known problems of the discipline. This article presents some contributions from cognitive psychology related to the use of decision heuristics to the discussions about the concept of power and related to uncertainty in the field of International Relations. For this, it revises the different visions about the concept of power and uncertainty among the three most influential paradigms in International Relations, presenting how each one of them defines these two concepts and what are the theoretical implications for these visions. Despite the many operational definitions, it is possible that the formal concept provided by Dahl (1957) be taken as a reference for the four faces of power presented here. Nonetheless, this definition necessarily embeds some degree of uncertainty in power relations as a matter of information, be it because of its availability, its reliability, its ambiguity or its subjectivity. In this sense, decision heuristics are presented as a way to deal with decision-making under uncertainty related to power relationships, from a bounded and ecological rationality perspective. This approach is just one, among many, and does not seek to impose absolute terms to the discussion, nor denies the many theoretical contributions made by the other approaches discussed here, but points out new possibilities for analysis and shed light to neglected terms for debate in the field of International Relations. Keywords: Power; Uncertainty; Decision-Making; Bounded Rationality; International Relations Theories.     Recebido em: outubro/2018. Aprovado em: junho/2019.

scholarly journals Mycological rationality: Heuristics, perception and decision-making in mushroom foraging

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roope Oskari Kaaronen
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Selective Attention ◽  
Ecological Rationality ◽  
Hunter Gatherers ◽  
Decisions Under Uncertainty ◽  
Rules Of Thumb ◽  
Intuitive Decision Making ◽  
Human Foraging ◽  
Simple Heuristics

How do mushroom foragers make safe and efficient decisions under uncertainty, or deal with the genuine risks of misiden-tification and poisoning? This article is an inquiry into ecological rationality, heuristics, perception, and decision-makingin mushroom foraging. By surveying 894 Finnish mushroom foragers, this article illustrates how socially learned rules of thumb and heuristics are used in mushroom foraging, and how simple heuristics are often complemented by more complex and intuitive decision-making. The results illustrate how traditional foraging cultures have evolved precautionary heuristics to deal with uncertainties and poisonous species, and how foragers develop selective attention through experience. The study invites us to consider whether other human foraging cultures might use heuristics similarly, how and why such traditions have culturally evolved, and whether early hunter-gatherers might have used simple heuristics to deal with uncertainty.

Heuristics in financial decision-making: the selection of SME financing by advisers in an increasingly diverse market

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kirsten Rauwerda ◽  
Frank Jan De Graaf
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Ecological Rationality ◽  
Personal Network ◽  
Research Attention ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Less Is More ◽  
Fast And Frugal Heuristics ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Simple Rules

PurposeIn order to better understand how heuristics are used in practice, the authors explore what type of heuristics is used in the managerial domain of financial advisors to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and what influences the shaping of these heuristics. In doing so, the authors detect possible fast-and-frugal heuristics in day-to-day decision-making of independent financial advisers who help owners of SMEs to acquire capital (e.g. loans, factoring, leasing and equity).Design/methodology/approachThe authors inductively assessed the work of financial advisers of SMEs. Based on group discussions, the authors drew up a semi-structured interview-protocol with descriptive questions about how financial advisers come to a deal for their clients. The interviews of 19 professionals were analysed by relating them to the theory of fast-and-frugal heuristics.FindingsWithin their decision-making, advisers estimate the likelihood of acceptance by a few financial providers they know well in their personal network with a strong bias towards traditional banking products, although there are a large number of alternatives on the Dutch market. “Less is more” seems to be a relevant principle when defined as satisficing. Heuristics help advisers to deal with behavioural and economic limitations. Also, the authors have found that client interaction, previous working experience and the company the adviser is working for influences the shaping of the simple rules the adviser is using.Research limitations/implicationsThe study shows how difficult it is to understand the ecological rationality of a certain group of professionals and to understand the “less is more” principle. Financial advisers to SMEs use cognitive shortcuts and simple rules to advise SME-owners, based on previous experiences, but it is difficult to determine whether that leads to the same or even better solutions for them and their clients than using probability theory and financial optimisation models. Within heuristics, satisficing seems to be a dominant mechanism. Here, heuristics help advisers in recognising possibilities by searching for similarities between a current financing case and previous experiences. The data suggests that if “less is more” is defined as satisficing for one or more stakeholders involved, the principle dominates the decision making of financial advisers of SME's.Practical implicationsThe authors suggest the relevance of a behavioural approach to finance by assessing the day-to-day decisions of financial advisers of SMEs. Also, the authors suggest that financial advisers are guided by previous experiences, and they do not fully assess a wide range of options in their work but need shortcuts to fulfil the needs of their clients.Originality/valueThe study comes close to day-to-day decision-making in finance by assessing how professionals make decisions. The authors try to understand types of heuristics in relation with “ecological rationality” and the less is more principle. The authors assess financial advisers of SME-companies, a group that has gotten little research attention until now. The influence of client interaction and of the company the adviser is working for is remarkable in the shaping of the advisers' simple rules.

scholarly journals Personality is associated with dominance in a social feeding context in the great tit

Behaviour ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 156 (13-14) ◽  
pp. 1419-1434
Author(s):  
Nehafta Bibi ◽  
Yusheng Wei ◽  
Hongwei Xu ◽  
Jingnan Liang ◽  
Ijaz Hussain ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Context ◽  
Personality Traits ◽  
Parus Major ◽  
Novel Object ◽  
Novel Environment ◽  
Personality Differences ◽  
Individual Personality ◽  
Behavioural Types ◽  
Fitness Consequence ◽  
Feeding Context

Abstract Despite the growing interest in consistent individual differences in behaviour (animal personality), the influence of social context on different behavioural types remains poorly understood. The suite of correlated behaviours within and across contexts is called behavioural syndromes. Most personality studies have investigated consistent individual behavioural types and their consequences in a asocial context, however few studies have considered the influence of social context on individual behaviour. In addition, the evolutionary and ecological consequences of personality differences in social context remain unknown. In the present study, we confirm individual personality in Great tits (Parus major) using room exploration and neophobia tests. As a result of these two tests, repeatability and correlational structure of two personality traits were investigated. Additionally we assessed the extent to which personality influences dominance in a social feeding context. Great tits remained consistent in their personality traits (exploration and neophobia). Individuals who explored a novel environment faster also approached a novel object faster, while those who spent more time exploring a novel environment were also slower to approach a novel object. In a social feeding context personality was linked to dominance: with proactive individuals being more likely to be dominant. Our result provides evidence of the importance of social context in a wild population of birds and may have fitness consequence, both for focal individuals and their conspecifics.

scholarly journals Reward sensitivity differs depending on global self-esteem in value-based decision-making

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Aya Ogasawara ◽  
Yoshiyuki Ohmura ◽  
Yasuo Kuniyoshi
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Computational Models ◽  
Learning Task ◽  
Self Esteem ◽  
Expected Value ◽  
Reward Sensitivity ◽  
Self Confidence ◽  
Maximum Value ◽  
Individual Personality ◽  
Social Decision Making

AbstractGlobal self-esteem is a component of individual personality that impacts decision-making. Many studies have discussed the different preferences for decision-making in response to threats to a person’s self-confidence, depending on global self-esteem. However, studies about global self-esteem and non-social decision-making have indicated that decisions differ due to reward sensitivity. Here, reward sensitivity refers to the extent to which rewards change decisions. We hypothesized that individuals with lower global self-esteem have lower reward sensitivity and investigated the relationship between self-esteem and reward sensitivity using a computational model. We first examined the effect of expected value and maximum value in learning under uncertainties because some studies have shown the possibility of saliency (e.g. maximum value) and relative value (e.g. expected value) affecting decisions, respectively. In our learning task, expected value affected decisions, but there was no significant effect of maximum value. Therefore, we modelled participants’ choices under the condition of different expected value without considering maximum value. We used the Q-learning model, which is one of the traditional computational models in explaining experiential learning decisions. Global self-esteem correlated positively with reward sensitivity. Our results suggest that individual reward sensitivity affects decision-making depending on one’s global self-esteem.

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