Advanced decision making

Motor skills

ability to solve a motor problem correctly, quickly, rationally and resourcefully and isnt just reflective

Endogenously

not in direct response to an external stimulus or cue;

Introspectively

• they are performing the act on their own initiative and that they are free to start or not start the act as they wish.

• Conscious decision

Normative theories

• Not what we normally do but the ideal standard for making decision/probability

• an evaluative standard. 

• concerned with optimal decision making

• based on the concept of probability and expected value

Expected utility

reflects subjective psychological rather than economic values.

Expected value

The average payoff of an option, calculated by multiplying each outcome by its probability and summing the results.

Rationality theory

We want to maximise our expected utility (psychological value)

Framing effect

• a cognitive bias that occurs when the way information is presented influences how we make decisions.

• This can lead to different choices even when the options are the same.

Prospect theory

• Predicts what people will do, not what they should do

• A behavioral economic theory developed by Kahneman and Tversky describing how decisions are made under risk, emphasizing reference dependence and non-linear probability weighting.

Reference dependence

People make decisions based on anticipated gains and losses compared to their current state.

Probability weighting

probabilities are subjectively assessed, e.g. overestimate chance of winning.

Bounded rationality

allows people to solve problems quickly within limitations

• The concept that human decision-making is limited by finite computational resources, cognitive/memory limits, incomplete information, and time constraints.

RPE (Reward Prediction Error)

RPE = R_received + γV(t+1) - V(t); the difference between received vs. predicted reward alongside new information about future rewards.

Hyperbolic function

A mathematical function describing temporal discounting, where subjective value declines sharply with short delays and more gradually over longer delays.

Psychological satisfaction

The subjective value or utility an individual assigns to an outcome or product based on personal judgment, desires, and beliefs rather than objective measures.

Heuristics

Mental shortcuts that simplify decision-making in complex choice environments, though they can introduce systematic biases.

Availability Heuristic

• The availability heuristic is a mental shortcut that relies on immediate, easily recalled information when making judgments about frequency, probability, or importance.

• If an example is vivid, recent, or emotionally striking, it tends to feel more common than it actually is.

Representative Heuristic

a cognitive shortcut where people judge probability or category membership based on how closely something resembles a mental prototype, rather than using statistical probabilities

Anchoring Heuristic

a cognitive bias in which people rely heavily on an initial reference point—an “anchor”—and make insufficient adjustments from it when forming judgments or decisions.

Nash equilibrium

A set of strategies, one for each player, such that no player has an incentive to change their strategy given when the other players are doing.

Primary reinforcers

direct benefits: water, food, sex, pleasure.

Secondary reinforcers

when reward can be used to gain other rewards, no value in itself.

Aversive

• Removal of reinforcers.

• Aversive stimuli.

Delay discounting

The decline in subjective value of a reward as the time delay to receive it increases.