L10.1 Cognitive biases and
LEARNING OUTCOMES
Define key concepts in judgment and decision-making: -
Judgment: Assessing the likelihood of various events based on incomplete information; accuracy is a key concern. -
Decision-making: Choosing an option among alternatives; fundamental question is whether the right decision was made.
Identify different cognitive biases, including but not limited to: -
Availability heuristic - just bcs u see smt happening all the time doesnt mean it happens all the time
Representativeness heuristic - judging by categorising a grp of ppl STEREOTYPES
Anchoring-and-adjustment heuristic - judging based one the first piece of info u get U THINK THIS PERSON IS A GREAT GUY BCS HE DOES THE BARE MINIMUM WHEN IN FACT THERE ARE WAY BETTER GUYS OUT THERE
Confirmation bias: IGNORING OTHERS PERSPECTIVES AND ONLY PAYING ATTENTION TO WHAT YOU BELIEVE IN
Describe models explaining our judgment and decision-making processes.
DECISIONS, JUDGMENT, PROBLEM-SOLVING, ETC
Homo economicus: A theoretical concept in economics that describes a rational and self-interested individual.
Judgment: The process of deciding on the likelihood of various events with limited information; raises the question of accuracy.
Decision-making: The process of selecting an option; involves reflecting on whether the decision made was correct.
HEDGEHOGS VS MONET
Average behavior suggests that if you trust your instincts, you will choose the hedgehog; if you deliberate, you'll choose the Monet.
After six months, individuals with hedgehogs reported higher happiness than those with Monets.
Suggests that gut feelings can outperform deliberate thinking in behaviors.
POLL #2: THE BAT-AND-BALL PROBLEM
Question: A cricket bat and a cricket ball together cost $220, and the bat costs $200 more than the ball. What is the ball's cost?
Typical Incorrect Response: Participants often assume the ball costs $20 without proper calculation.
SOLUTIONS TO THE POLL #2
Correct Solution: The ball costs $10 and the bat costs $210. - Breakdown: and .
Frederick (2005) notes that naïve participants at American universities answered correctly only 41% of the time on similar problems.
Evidence of cognitive laziness when answering complex questions leads to simplified and incorrect responses.
KAHNEMAN & TVERSKY
Awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics.
Conceptualized cognitive illusions akin to perceptual illusions based on trade-offs between efficiency and accuracy.
Introduced Dual Process Theory (Kahneman, 2003): - System 1: Focused on efficiency, fast, automatic, unconscious, effortless feelings of intuition; does most of the cognitive work. - System 2: Focused on accuracy, slow, deliberate, effortful thinking; perceived as making choices, but tends to be lazy in execution.
RISK AVERSION
In decision-making involving risk, individuals displaying risk aversion would prefer a sure amount ($800) over a risky option (80% chance of $1000 and 20% chance of $100), despite the expected value being higher for the latter.
Average expected value from the second option is .
Explains the presence of insurance companies, as humans often choose options that minimize risk.
LOSS AVERSION
When given a choice between two options involving potential loss versus a sure gain of $50, many will choose the sure gain despite the potential more considerable benefits of taking risks.
Indicates that humans are not homo economicus, as actual decision-making deviates from pure rationality expected in traditional economics.
REPRESENTATIVENESS HEURISTIC
E.g. If presented with a somewhat shy woman wearing glasses, participants are more likely to identify her as a librarian rather than considering probabilities (7000 librarians versus 1.2 million retail workers) despite her appearance suggesting a stereotype more than a statistical likelihood.
This bias stems from confusion between stereotype fit and actual probability.
ANCHORING EFFECT
The initial number given in a broader context (like population statistics) influences estimates of unrelated outcomes, creating biases through the anchoring-and-adjustment heuristic.
Example from polls: an initial population figure may sway estimates of future outcomes even if misapplied.
AVAILABILITY HEURISTIC
Freqencies of events are estimated based on how easily instances come to mind, promoting a skewed risk assessment or decisions based on vivid or recent experiences instead of hard factual data.
CONFIRMATION BIAS
In testing hypotheses, individuals display a tendency to seek information that supports their belief rather than seeking out disconfirming evidence, particularly evident in the 2-4-6 task from Wason (1960).
KARL POPPER AND CONFIRMATION BIAS
Popper's perspective: Science should strive to falsify hypotheses rather than confirm them; this principle is incredibly useful, though its application in practice may vary.
ISSUES WITH KAHNEMAN'S DUAL PROCESS THEORY
Critiques highlight oversimplification and vagueness in defining Systems 1 and 2, where their roles may shift based on specific tasks.
Initial characterization posited that System 1 operates in parallel while System 2 is serial, which may not hold true universally.
DE NEYS’ LOGICAL INTUITION MODEL
Proposes that judgment involves three distinct processes:
- Rapid intuitive heuristic processing (System 1) -
Intuitive logical processing - When heuristics and logical outcomes diverge,
System 2 engages to resolve the conflict.
CASE STUDY: THE CHALLENGER DISASTER (1987)
Engineers from Morton Thiokol raised concerns about the O-rings' performance in cold weather but were pressured by NASA to reconsider their warnings.
The failure to act on these concerns at higher levels led to severe outcomes, illustrating the importance of proper information flow in decision-making.
MUSIC PSYC236 WEEK 13 LECTURE
LEARNING OUTCOMES: - Understand sound waves and their translation into neural signals. - Identify different aspects of music processing: - Relative pitch - Musical expectancies - Melodic contour - Dynamic attending - Describe components of the ITPRA model.
WAVEFORMS
Sine Wave at 440Hz: Fundamental sound structure representing audio frequency.
THE AUDITORY SYSTEM - THE EAR
The outer ear shapes incoming sounds, the tympanic membrane converts sound waves into vibrations, and the middle ear bones (malleus, incus, stapes) amplify sound.
THE COCHLEA
Hair cells respond to soundwaves; different pitches activate different cochlear areas; lower pitches resonate further along the cochlea.
Sound processing allows us to group notes into chords and perceive harmonic structures.
CONSONANCE AND DISSONANCE
Musical harmony effects arise from mathematical relationships of frequencies between notes, like octaves and perfect fifths.
Natural occurrence of specific pitch relationships leads to entrainment in musical perception.
TIME IN MUSIC
Time organization is fundamental in music; rhythms help listeners predict the timing of notes.
RELATIVE PITCH
The capacity to recognize pitch relations rather than absolute frequencies is crucial in musical perception; it enables melody consistency across varying keys.
ABSOLUTE PITCH
'Absolute pitch' refers to the ability to identify or recreate a given musical note, although many have an innate sense of pitch without explicit identification.
MELODIC CONTOUR
Melodies distinguishable by their 'ups and downs'; non-musicians can perceive these changes without formal training, highlighting contour importance in melody perception.
MUSICAL EXPECTANCIES
The brain forms expectations based on prior musical experiences; this dictates emotional responses, where deviations from expectations create dynamic tension and interest in music.
ITPRA MODEL OF MUSIC EMOTION
David Huron’s ITPRA model posits emotional responses to music result from interactions between various types of musical expectations, leading to physiological reactions during unexpected musical events.
CHORUS OF TINY DANCER
Emotional engagement is heightened in familiar pop structures, such as tension build-ups leading to satisfying resolutions.