Biomedical subjects

Stephanie Stolarz-Fantino

Publications and source records attributed to Stephanie Stolarz-Fantino.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Use of base rates and case cue information in making likelihood estimates.

In five experiments, we investigated college students' use of base rate and case cue information in estimating likelihood. The participants reported that case cues were more important than base rates, except when the case cues were totally uninformative, and made more use of base rate information when the base rates were varied within subjects, rather than between subjects. Estimates were more Bayesian when base rate and case cue information was congruent, rather than contradictory. The nature of the "witness" in case cue information (animate or inanimate) did not affect the use of base rate and case cue information. Multiple trials with feedback led to more accurate estimates; however, this effect was not lasting. The results suggest that when base rate information is made salient by experience (multiple trials and within-subjects variation) or by other manipulations, base rate neglect is minimized.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2005

Decision-making: Context matters.

Research and theory in human decision-making has increasingly stressed the importance of the context in which the problem is embedded. This emphasis is consistent with that supported by research of behavior analysts on natural concept formation and in problem solving, as well as in the study of choice. We present data on reasoning problems that further support the role of context in decision-making.

Cognition↗

PubMed2005

The rules we choose by.

Hutchinson & Gigerenzer's functional approach to decision making has much in common with behavioral approaches. One of their central points is that "rules-of-thumb" often provide efficient decision strategies, use of which is both rational and generally optimal. We agree, but also caution that the misapplication of rules sometimes leads to non-optimal decisions.

Algorithms↗

PubMed2003

The conjunction effect: new evidence for robustness.

Five studies investigated the conjunction effect (or conjunction fallacy), in which participants report that the conjunction of two events is more rather than less likely than one of the events alone. There was no evidence that feedback or monetary reinforcement for correct answers affected students' performance on conjunction problems. Under some circumstances the context in which the conjunction problem was presented (after questions emphasizing logic or questions emphasizing opinions) affected occurrence of the effect. Location of the conjunction among the statements being rated had a significant effect. The effect occurred with or without a framing description and whether the conjunction consisted of two or three simple statements. However, statements representing the conjunction of three simple statements were (appropriately) judged less likely than those representing the conjunction of two simple statements. The substantial incidence of the effect, even without the descriptive frame and even when incentive and feedback were provided for correct answers, argues for its robustness.

California↗

PubMed2003

Rules and problem solving: another look.

College students were trained on problems similar to the water jar problems developed by Luchins (1942). Some students were instructed that a particular rule would solve all the problems, others had the same problems but were not instructed about the rule, and a third set of students had a series of novel problems in which no single rule operated throughout. In two experiments students in the instructed rule group not only performed best in training but also performed best when transferred to a condition in which a single novel rule was appropriate. Although results from the set of conditions most similar to those of Luchins suggested that students sometimes inappropriately persisted in rule usage, the overall results suggest that rigidity is not a necessary outcome of instructed problem solving. Indeed, many of the results were consistent with the notion that instructed problem solving is flexible problem solving.

Adult↗