In their book, Gigerenzer and Selten (2001) described human being as an organism that adaptively reacts to its environment by selecting ecologically rational heuristics that are contingent on task demands; that is, adaptivity assumption. Empirical evidence of the adaptivity assumption is, however, mixed. In this paper, I review prior experiments related to testing the adaptivity assumption and criticize some of the past findings. From this criticism, the research questions are formed. The research objective of this paper is to test whether or not people choose their decision strategy as a reaction to environmental conditions. In this dissertation, the use of the take-the-best (TTB) heuristic is investigated for different treatments, which are information structure, information cost, and social rationality. Participants go through 180 trials of a pair comparison task. Using the proportion of TTB trials as a dependent variable, three hypotheses regarding the effects of three treatments are tested. The results of the experiments indicate that only the social rationality is a significant factor in promoting the TTB heuristic. Besides the test of the hypothesis, an exploratory analysis of participants’ data is presented.

No description available.

<div>Cognitive agent architectures embed social learning algorithms and normative frameworks for adopting others’ influenced goals. However, there exists inefficiency in providing continuous, situational decision-making to emerge social, altruistic norms. The thesis reconstructs social-ecological learning mechanisms to functionally and efficiently internalize situational cooperation. By orienting agents to be self-aware of their three-dimensional vectors, i.e., physical, emotional and intellectual in graphical representations, this thesis hypothesizes the parsimonious, action-predictive four emotions that not only link perceptions, action, and cognition by events but also the emotional continuity functional to social-ecological rationality of agents in continuum. Twelve Meridian system is employed to conceptualize the equalizing, complementary, heuristic orientation (ECHO) model. ECHO simulates “naturalistic” cooperation to model embodied, social-ecological orientations by self-organizing emotions to emerge functional social network formations. ECHO delineates the soma links to perceptions, namely Twelve Meridian channels as “direct pipes” that initiates and conduct emotions and consciousness of three dimensional agenthood: physical, emotional, and intellectual desires. ECHO reconstructs emotions as entities to induce systemic, self-organized rule of delegation by integrating agents’ percepts and actuations. By modeling constitutional emotions and consciousness of eight entities, emotions within entities as “individualized emotional processors,” are constructing and integrating purposeful social, altruistic events for the efficacy of situated agents.<br></div>

No description available.

<p>Bounded rationality is the study of how human cognition with limited capacity is adapted to handle the complex information structures in the environment. This thesis argues that in order to understand the bounded rationality of decision processes, it is necessary to develop decision theories that are computational process models based upon basic cognitive and perceptual mechanisms. The main goal of this thesis is to show that models of perceptual categorization based on the storage of exemplars and retrieval of similar exemplars whenever a new object is encountered (D. L. Medin & M. M. Schaffer, 1978), can be an important contribution to theories of decision making. Study I proposed, PROBEX (PROBabilities from Exemplars), a model for inferences from generic knowledge. It is a “lazy” algorithm that presumes no pre-computed abstractions. In a computer simulation it was found to be a powerful decision strategy, and it was possible to fit the model to human data in a psychologically plausible way. Study II was a theoretical investigation that found that PROBEX was very robust in conditions where the decision maker has very little information, and that it worked well even under the worst circumstances. Study III empirically tested if humans can learn to use exemplar based or one reason decision making strategies (G. Gigerenzer, P. Todd, & the ABC Research Group, 1999) where it is appropriate in a two-alternative choice task. Experiment 1 used cue structure and presentation format as independent variables, and participants easily used one reason strategies if the decision task presented the information as normal text. The participants were only able to use exemplars if they were presented as short strings of letters. Experiment 2 failed to accelerate learning of exemplar use during the decision phase, by prior exposure to exemplars in a similar task. In conclusion, this thesis supports that there are at least two modes of decision making, which are boundedly rational if they are used in the appropriate context. Exemplar strategies may, contrary to study II, only be used late in learning, and the conditions for learning need to be investigated further.</p>

Bounded rationality is the study of how human cognition with limited capacity is adapted to handle the complex information structures in the environment. This thesis argues that in order to understand the bounded rationality of decision processes, it is necessary to develop decision theories that are computational process models based upon basic cognitive and perceptual mechanisms. The main goal of this thesis is to show that models of perceptual categorization based on the storage of exemplars and retrieval of similar exemplars whenever a new object is encountered (D. L. Medin &amp; M. M. Schaffer, 1978), can be an important contribution to theories of decision making. Study I proposed, PROBEX (PROBabilities from Exemplars), a model for inferences from generic knowledge. It is a “lazy” algorithm that presumes no pre-computed abstractions. In a computer simulation it was found to be a powerful decision strategy, and it was possible to fit the model to human data in a psychologically plausible way. Study II was a theoretical investigation that found that PROBEX was very robust in conditions where the decision maker has very little information, and that it worked well even under the worst circumstances. Study III empirically tested if humans can learn to use exemplar based or one reason decision making strategies (G. Gigerenzer, P. Todd, &amp; the ABC Research Group, 1999) where it is appropriate in a two-alternative choice task. Experiment 1 used cue structure and presentation format as independent variables, and participants easily used one reason strategies if the decision task presented the information as normal text. The participants were only able to use exemplars if they were presented as short strings of letters. Experiment 2 failed to accelerate learning of exemplar use during the decision phase, by prior exposure to exemplars in a similar task. In conclusion, this thesis supports that there are at least two modes of decision making, which are boundedly rational if they are used in the appropriate context. Exemplar strategies may, contrary to study II, only be used late in learning, and the conditions for learning need to be investigated further.

No description available.

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / This study addresses the issue of the mode of appropriation of nature, from the ethnoecological approach in the context of family farming. Aiming to analyze, especially the corpus (knowledge) and praxis (practice productive) family of farmers for cattle cutting Território do Alto Camaquã - Serra do Sudeste/RS. For this, the location of the study involved three counties Caçapava do Sul, Pinheiro Machado and Piratini that are part of the Território do Alto Camaquã and Bioma Pampa. The research method was qualitative /quantitative with descriptive approach and purposive sampling. As tools for the study were used literature, participant observation, field diary and semi-structured interview applied to family farmers. It was found that family farmers have extreme resemblance to the mode of appropriation of nature peasant. This is evident from the results in the use of energy, land size, self-sufficiency, use of workforce diversity, productivity, wishes and desires, forms and transmission of knowledge and vision on nature and the world. The knowledge that apply familiar farmers have much of their previous generations passed them, passed from generation to generation is closely linked with cultural values. Thus will they be shaping productive practices conducted by this audience, with some adjustments over the years to improve production in harmony with the natural resources available (deferment, improvement of native pastures with winter species, castration with burdizzo and breeding flock with european breeds). Natural resources that farmers take ownership to effectively produce the beef cattle grazing native pasture are threefold: sun (light), water (rainfall) and soil (pasture). Making us understand how the production cycle to take place using a small part of external inputs, which are to animal, proving that effect the broad relationship and dependence on environmental conditions of the farmers family. It appears that family farmers are not motivated primarily by factors of an economic, as economic profit and profitability, corroborating the thesis Chayanov. Noting that approximately 80% of the total area of the properties studied are formed by natural grassland and only 4.44% are destined for grazing. It is concluded from this study that family ranchers are integrated into Pampa, through historical, social and environmental, contribute to the preservation and characterization of the landscape within the Bioma Pampa. / Este estudo aborda a temática do modo de apropriação da natureza, a partir do enfoque etnoecológico, no contexto da pecuária familiar. Objetivando analisar, especialmente, o corpus (conhecimentos) e a práxis (práticas produtivas) dos pecuaristas familiares criadores de bovinos de corte do Território do Alto Camaquã Serra do Sudeste/RS. Para isso, o local do estudo compreendeu três municípios Caçapava do Sul, Pinheiro Machado e Piratini que fazem parte do Território do Alto Camaquã e do Bioma Pampa. O método de pesquisa foi o quali/quantitivo, com abordagem descritiva e amostragem intencional. Como instrumentos para o estudo foram utilizados pesquisa bibliográfica, observação participante, diário de campo e entrevista semi-estruturada aplicada aos pecuaristas familiares. Constatou-se que os pecuaristas familiares possuem extrema semelhança com o modo de apropriação da natureza camponês. Isto evidenciado a partir dos resultados quanto ao uso da energia, tamanho da terra, auto-suficiência, uso da força de trabalho, diversidade da produção, produtividade, desejos e anseios, formas e transmissão dos conhecimentos e visão frente à natureza e ao mundo. O conhecimento que os pecuaristas familiares aplicam tem muito do que suas gerações anteriores os passaram, passado de geração em geração está intimamente ligado com os valores culturais. Dessa forma é que vão se moldando as práticas produtivas realizadas por este público, com algumas adaptações no decorrer dos anos, para melhoria da produção em harmonia com os recursos naturais disponibilizados (diferimento, melhoramento da pastagem natural com espécies de inverno, castração com burdizzo e melhoramento rebanho com raças européias). Os recursos naturais que os pecuaristas se apropriam para efetivamente produzirem o bovino de corte extensivamente em pastagem natural são a tríplice: sol (luminosidade), água (chuva) e solo (pastagem natural). Fazendo-nos compreender assim que o ciclo de produção para acontecer utiliza uma pequena parte de insumos externos não renováveis, sendo estes para a sanidade animal, comprovando nesse sentido a ampla relação e dependência, das condições ambientais dos pecuaristas familiares. Constata-se que os pecuaristas familiares não são motivados prioritariamente por fatores de caráter econômico, como o lucro e a rentabilidade econômica, corroborando com a tese de Chayanov. Destaca-se que aproximadamente 80% da área total das propriedades estudadas são formadas por pastagem natural e apenas 4,44% são destinadas a pastagem cultivada. Conclui-se com este estudo que os pecuaristas familiares estão integrados ao Pampa, por meio de aspectos históricos, sociais e ambientais, contribuindo com a preservação e caracterização da paisagem no território do Bioma Pampa.

Diese Dissertation untersucht aus der Perspektive der ökologischen Rationalität (ÖR) die Frage, wie Menschen Entscheidungen in sozialen Kontexten treffen, z.B. in Gruppen oder mit Hilfe von Ratschlägen. Zentral waren die Fragen, wie und welche Umweltfaktoren die Verwendung und Güte von verschiedenen Entscheidungsstrategien beeinflussen. Ziel war es, den Forschungsrahmen der ÖR mit der Gruppenforschung und Literatur zum Thema Ratgeben zu verknüpfen, um für die jeweiligen Forschungsstränge neue Erkenntnisse zu gewinnen. Im ersten Projekt wurden die Leistungen von Einzelpersonen und Zweiergruppen in einer Strategielernaufgabe miteinander verglichen. Aufgabe war es, mit Hilfe von Feedback, die Strategie zu lernen, die adaptiv in Bezug auf die Struktur der Umwelt war. Dabei war es entweder adaptiv, auf den besten diskriminierenden Cue zu setzen und die weniger validen Informationen zu ignorieren (take-the-best), oder aber alle vorhandenen Informationen zu verrechnen (weighted additive). Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass sowohl Einzelpersonen als auch Gruppen die jeweils beste Strategie erlernten, wobei Gruppen einen schnelleren Lernerfolg zeigten, wenn take-the-best adaptiv war. Das zweite Projekt untersuchte, ob Gruppen Entscheidungsstrategien verwenden, die auf ihre Zusammensetzung hinsichtlich aufgabenrelevanter Faktoren abgestimmt sind. Ergebnisse eines Experiments, in dem 3-Personen-Gruppen eine Paarvergleichsaufgabe bearbeiteten, zeigten, dass Gruppen dazu in der Lage sind, den Strategien zu folgen, die am erfolgversprechendsten sind. Das dritte Projekt untersuchte den Einfluss von Aufgabenschwierigkeit auf die Güte und Verwendung von zwei häufig verwendeten Strategien (mitteln und auswählen) zur Integration von Ratschlägen. Wahrgenommene Aufgabenschwierigkeit schlug sich in verschiedenen statistischen Merkmalen der Umweltstruktur nieder, was wiederum die potentielle Güte der Strategien. Zudem stimmten Personen ihre Strategien auf die Aufgabenschwierigkeit ab. / This dissertation is an investigation from an ecological rationality (ER) perspective of how people make decisions in social contexts, for example, when people collectively make decisions in small groups or with the help of another person’s advice. Of particular interest were the questions of what and how environmental factors influence the use and performance of different decision strategies. The studies thus were aimed at linking the framework of ER with research on group decision making and advice taking, respectively, in order to derive new insights for the related research streams. A first project compared the performances of individuals and two-person groups in a strategy-learning task. The task was to learn with the help of feedback the most adaptive strategy for a given task environment. One environment favored take-the-best (i.e., the strategy to rely on the best discriminating cue and ignore the rest); the second environment favored the weighted additive strategy, which weights and adds all available cues. Results show that individuals and dyads learned to select the most appropriate strategy over time, with a steeper learning rate in dyads when take-the-best was adaptive. A second project investigated whether small groups apply decision strategies conditional on the group’s composition in terms of task-relevant features. Results of an experiment with three-member groups working on a paired-comparison task support the hypothesis that groups indeed adaptively apply the strategy that leads to the highest theoretically achievable performance. A third project investigated the impact of perceived task difficulty on the performance and use of choosing and averaging, two prominent advice-taking strategies. Perceived task difficulty was reflected in the statistical properties of the environment, which, in turn, determined the theoretical accuracy of choosing and averaging. Further, people were found to adaptively use the strategies in different task environments.

Von der Entscheidung für ein Spiel bis zur Wahl einer Taktik, um die Schlafenszeit hinauszuzögern - wiederholte Entscheidungen sind für Kinder allgegenwärtig. Zwei paradigmatische Entscheidungsphänomene sind probability matching (dt. Angleichen der Wahrscheinlichkeit) und Maximieren. Um Belohnungen zu maximieren, sollte eine Person ausschließlich die Option auswählen, welche die höchste Wahrscheinlichkeit hat. Maximieren wird allgemein al ökonomisch rationales Verhalten angesehen. Probability matching beschreibt, dass eine Person jede Option mit der Wahrscheinlichkeit auswählt, wie deren zugrunde liegende Wahrscheinlichkeit einer Belohnung ist. Ob es sich bei probability matching um einen Fehlschluss oder einen adaptiven Mechanismus handelt, ist umstritten. Frühere Forschung zu probabilistischem Lernen zeigte das paradoxe Ergebnis, dass jüngere Kinder eher maximieren als ältere Kinder. Von älteren Kindern nimmt man hingegen an, dass sie probability matchen. Dabei wurde jedoch kaum berücksichtigt, dass Kinder die Struktur der Umwelt zu ihrem Vorteil nutzen können. Diese Dissertation untersucht die inter- und intraindividuelle Entwicklung des probabilistischen Lernens in der Kindheit unter ökologischen und kognitiven Aspekten. Vier empirischen Kapitel zeigen, dass die Interaktion zwischen heranreifenden kognitiven Funktionen, sowie Merkmalen der Lern- und Entscheidungsumgebung die Entwicklung des adaptiven Entscheidungsverhaltens prägt. Die Entwicklung des probabilistischen Lernens durchläuft in der Kindheit mehrere Phasen: von hoher Persistenz, aber auch hoher interindividueller Variabilität bei jüngeren Kindern zu wachsender Anpassungsfähigkeit durch zunehmende Diversifizierung und Exploration bei älteren Kindern. Die Ergebnisse dieser Dissertation unterstreichen insbesondere den Nutzen einer ökologischen Rationalitätsperspektive bei der Erforschung der Entwicklung des Entscheidungsvermögens. / From choosing which game to play to deciding how to effectively delay bedtime—making repeated choices is a ubiquitous part of childhood. Two often contrasted paradigmatic choice behaviors are probability matching and maximizing. Maximizing, described as consistently choosing the option with the highest reward probability, has traditionally been considered economically rational. Probability matching, in contrast, described by proportionately matching choices to underlying reward probabilities, is debated whether it reflects a mistake or an adaptive mechanism. Previous research on the development of probability learning and repeated choice revealed considerable change across childhood and reported the paradoxical finding that younger children are more likely to maximize—outperforming older children who are thought to be more likely to probability match. However, this line of research largely disregarded the mind’s ability to capitalize on the structure of the environment. In this dissertation, I investigate the inter- and intra-individual development of probability learning and repeated choice behavior in childhood under consideration of ecological, cognitive, and methodological aspects. Four empirical chapters demonstrate that the interaction between the maturing mind and characteristics of the learning and choice environment shapes the development of adaptive choice behavior. The development of probability learning and repeated choice behavior in childhood progresses from high persistence but also high inter-individual variability to emerging adaptivity marked by increased diversification and exploration. The present research highlights the benefit of taking an ecological rationality view in research on the development of decision making abilities.