Influence of Uncertainty and Time Stress on Decision Making

1993 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Leddo ◽  
James O. Chinnis Jr. ◽  
Marvin S. Cohen ◽  
F. F. Marvin
Keyword(s):  

1981 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 100-104 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard W. Pew ◽  
Duncan C. Miller ◽  
Carl E. Feehrer

Decision making by nuclear power plant operators was studied in the context of four recent “off-normal” incidents, in order to assess the potential impact of various proposed control room improvements. A model of operator decision making was applied to critical operator decisions during each event in order to determine how each proposed improvement could help prevent or resolve decision-making errors. The results indicated that time stress on the crew played an appreciable role in the performance failures identified, and that a combination of improvements will be necessary to address this problem.



Author(s):  
Victoria A. Spaulding ◽  
Donita A. Phipps

Younger and older participants were trained to perform a computerized football task. Half of the participants received rule-based training and the remainder received color enhancements in alternating blocks. Both younger and older adults improved RT performance, with the younger participants performing about twice as fast as the older participants. The participants transferred to Novel, Cluttered and Time-Stress conditions. The effect of training type (rules better than enhancements) failed to persist during transfer. Age-related impairments of RT and overall accuracy persisted during transfer, although older participants maintained a higher primary accuracy (except for Time-Stress). Their performance plummeted during the Time-Stress, but improved across the blocks. During the subsequent baseline block, primary accuracy returned to the pre-Cluttered level and RT slightly declined. These results suggest that the older participants changed strategies under time stress, and with more practice, their performance on this complex perceptual task may increase dramatically.



Author(s):  
P. Lehner ◽  
M.-M. Seyed-Solorforough ◽  
M.F. O'Connor ◽  
S. Sak ◽  
T. Mullin


Perception ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 030100662110174
Author(s):  
Yile Sun ◽  
Robert Sekuler

Using a video game platform, we examined how vision-based decision making was affected by a concurrent, potentially conflicting auditory stimulus. Electroencephalographic responses showed that by 150 milliseconds of stimulus onset, the brain had detected the conflict between visual and auditory stimuli. Systematically reducing the intertrial interval (ITI), which subjects described as stressful, undermined decision making. Subjects’ arterial pulse variance decreased along with ITI, signaling increased parasympathetic influence on the heart. When successive trials required a shift in processing mode, short ITIs significantly boosted one trial’s influence on the next, suggesting that stress reduces cognitive flexibility. Finally, our study demonstrates the heart’s and the brain’s important influence on decision making.



1992 ◽  
Vol 36 (13) ◽  
pp. 1019-1023 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Smith ◽  
P.A. Hancock

The evolution of automated and semi-automated systems is rendering continuous regulation relatively obsolete, leaving periodic “management” interventions as the main way in which operators exercise control. Consequently, the human is now more frequently required to respond in uncertain, unusual, or “emergency” conditions. Such circumstances connote high stress environments. Consequently, the research reported here investigates expertise at decision making under stress. The source of stress is ubiquitous in occurrence, namely time pressure. We present a process model that explains and predicts the decision behavior of skilled operators as they manage risk under time stress. The model identifies three components of decision making, (1) attention, (2) assessment, and (3) intervention. Attention (1) scans widely among information displays and focuses action narrowly upon one of three procedures for (2) assessing the attended information. Separate procedures assess (α) the risks posed by the environment, (β) risks generated by interacting with the environment, and (α) uncertainty about those risks. The uniquely appropriate intervention (3) is selected by a small set of rules that match heuristically the assessments of risk and uncertainty to a short list of alternative actions. The model is validated with respect to the operation of skilled operators in the domain of currency exchange. In comparing performance versus simulation data, the model identifies the one procedure that resists automation - the assessment of risks posed by the environment. This assessment involves causal arguments that often rely upon extensive domain knowledge. In contrast, attention to displays, heuristic matching, and the procedures for assessing uncertainty and the risk of interaction can be delegated to an automated decision support system. This result has clear implications for the the design of systems to support skilled decision making under emergency conditions: decision support systems for dynamic environments like currency trading must notify the operator of the occurrence of system parameters that require assessments of environmental risk and incorporate these assessments into automated procedures that recommend appropriate interventions.



Ergonomics ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 43 (8) ◽  
pp. 1095-1110 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carol McCann ◽  
Joseph V. Baranski ◽  
Megan M. Thompson ◽  
Ross A. Pigeau


1992 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul E. Lehner ◽  
Mir-Masood Seyed-Solorforough ◽  
Bhashyam Nallappa ◽  
Michael O'Connor ◽  
Stephen Sak ◽  
...  


Author(s):  
Megan E. Gregory ◽  
Shirley C. Sonesh ◽  
Jennifer Feitosa ◽  
Lauren E. Benishek ◽  
Ashley M. Hughes ◽  
...  

Objective The aim of this study was to describe the relationship between negative affect (NA), decision-making style, time stress, and decision quality in health care. Background Health care providers must often make swift, high-stakes decisions. Influencing factors of the decision-making process in this context have been understudied. Method Within a sample of labor and delivery nurses, physicians, and allied personnel, we used self-report measures to examine the impact of trait factors, including NA, decision-making style, and perceived time stress, on decision quality in a situational judgment test (Study 1). In Study 2, we observed the influence of state NA, state decision-making style, state time stress, and their relationship with decision quality on real clinical decisions. Results In Study 1, we found that trait NA significantly predicted avoidant decision-making style. Furthermore, those who were higher on trait time stress and trait avoidant decision-making style exhibited poorer decisions. In Study 2, we observed associations between state NA with state avoidant and analytical decision-making styles. We also observed that these decision-making styles, when considered in tandem with time stress, were influential in predicting clinical decision quality. Conclusion NA predicts some decision-making styles, and decision-making style can affect decision quality under time stress. This is particularly true for state factors. Application Individual differences, such as affect and decision-making style, should be considered during selection. Training to reduce time stress perceptions should be provided.



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