PJD101 Second Class

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PJD 101

Summary of the Second class of PJD 101

2017/2/4Yoshiaki Fujita

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Memory

How do we remember

Like Phineas Gage’s, the strange case of Henry Gustav Molaison, known in the scientific literature as simply HM, created a sensation in the field of neurology that led to many fundamental breakthroughs in understanding the importance of the hippocampus in formulating memories.

-- Micgio Kaku, The Future Of The Mind

Unfortunately, HM was cut his hippocampus in his surgery.

→ He couldn’t retain new memory after the surgery. → However, his long term memories were relatively intact. → These implies the role of the hippocampus to create memory.

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The path taken to create memory

Sensory information pass through the brain stem to the Thalamus, where the information is relied to the sensory lobes. At the sensory lobes the information is evaluated and sent to the prefrontal cortex. Here, prefrontal cortex, the information is taken into our conscious and formed what we consider as STM.

Then STM’s sent to the Hippocampus, where STM’s broken down several criteria, such as emotion, visual/color, etc. Then these fragments are stored in specific area of the brain. For instance, emotion’s stored in the amygdala, visual scene is stored in the occipital lobe.

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Recall long term memories

Some stimulus could retrieve long term memories. For example, when people hear “3.11” (auditory stimuli), they could recall vivid memory and tell what happened at that time.

However, the brain actually gathers several fragments related “3.11” and assembles the memory then people describes it, so the memory is not accurate perfectly. This might become one limitation affecting on the relational decision making model because people use memory several parts of the model.

Stimuli“3.11”

Express vivid memories

“Where I be”“What I doing”

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Rational Decision Making Model

Define the problem

Define the criteria

Weigh the criteria

The rational decision making model comprise of six steps below. It’s called “model” because if someone practice precisely this process, the decision must be the best one.

Create alternatives

Rate each alternatives on the criteria

Compute the optimal decision

Most Difficult Part

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Limitations to Define the Problem

General Definition of Problem ・ Something that is source of trouble that interfere to reach specific goals and difficult to deal with.

How to Define the Problem ・ Identify the trouble or symptom that is undesired. ・ Distinguish the source or factors generate the trouble. ・ Enumerate conditions related the trouble.

Limitations to define the problem ・ vague goals ・ confusing troubles / symptoms and their true source ・ forgetting related conditions ・ lack of time to be taken for this task ・ lack of confidence due to poor experience ・ lack of imagination (creative thoughts) ・ anxiety (unstable mental condition)

Define the Problem

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Limitations to Define and Weigh the Criteria

General Definition of Criteria ・ Something that is used as a reason for a judgement.

How to Define and Weigh the Criteria ・ Identify the standards to solve problem in desirable manner. ・ Identify the resource consumed to take a specific alternative. ・ Assume stakeholders’ interests. ・ Assign values on each criteria Limitations to define the Criteria ・ vague goals ・ lack of knowledge of expected alternatives ・ lack of time to be taken for this task ・ lack of confidence due to poor experience ・ lack of imagination (creative thoughts) ・ Uncertainness of stakeholders’ interests

Define and Weigh the Criteria

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Limitations to Create Alternatives

General Definition of Alternative ・ One of two or more ways of achieving the same desired goal.

How to Create the Alternative ・ Recall a way from similar experience. ・ Assemble a way from experience and / or knowledge. ・ Create a new way by imagination and / or creativity. ・ Create a new way by consulting others. Limitations to Create the Alternative ・ lack of experience ・ lack of knowledge ・ lack of time to be taken for this task ・ elapsed time until decided action is actually done ・ poor human network ・ lack of imagination (creative thoughts) ・ experience and / or knowledge that force someone to limited ways (bias?)

Create Alternatives

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Limitations to Rate each alternatives on the criteria

To think how well each of the alternative solutions will achieve each of the defined criteria.

How to Accomplish this task ・ Assess each of the alternatives in context of each criteria. ・ Assign relative scores to each alternatives based of the assessment above.

Limitations to Create the Alternative ・ lack of experience ・ lack of knowledge ・ lack of time to be taken for this task ・ unfair assignment of relatives score between each alternatives (bias?) ・ lack of imagination (creative thoughts)

Rate each alternatives on the criteria

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Heuristic

DefinitionA heuristic is a mental shortcut that allows people to solve problems and make judgments quickly and efficiently. These rule-of-thumb strategies shorten decision-making time and allow people to function without constantly stopping to think about their next course of action. Heuristics are helpful in many situations, but they can also lead to cognitive biases.

Why it is useful for decision makingTrough decision making process based on rational model, time to be taken is one of the limitation at all stages. (refer to slide 5 to 8)Heuristic can shorten decision making time and overcome the tile related limitation. Therefore it’s useful.

Disadvantage of heuristicSometimes heuristic lead to cognitive bias. For example, information that highway is the best way to reach DC from NY, 2001/9/12 is available heuristic that led people to unexpected outcomes.

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What I’ve learned

・ To create memory, there are three stages, sensory / perception, short term memory (that is processed) , and long term memory.

・ Long term memory is stored as several fragments at different parts of the brain, so we gather these fragments when we recall past memory. Therefore our memory is not perfect.

・ Rational decision making model, it’s 6 stages and the limitations affecting on each stages. ・ Basic concept of heuristic and fail example of decision making that was done based on the available heuristic.

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Further learning points

・ Four types of heuristic and difference / comparison between them.

・ Practice of decision making based of rational model.　→ For me, no experience of utilizing the rational decision making model, it seems to be difficult to determine criteria before thinking of alternatives. It might be easy if I define the problem clearly before thinking of the criteria. Therefor I need to practice the model.

・ Explore the brain / cognitive functions underlying the limitations to each stages of the rational model.