The document summarizes key points from a class about memory, decision making, and heuristics. It discusses how memory is formed through three stages involving sensory perception, short-term memory, and long-term memory stored in fragments across the brain. It also outlines the six steps of the rational decision making model and common limitations at each step, such as vague goals or lack of alternatives. Finally, it defines heuristics as mental shortcuts that can help or hinder decision making and notes the need to practice applying the rational model to better define problems and criteria.

1. 0
PJD 101
Summary of the Second class of PJD 101
2017/2/4
Yoshiaki Fujita

2. 1
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.

3. 2
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.

4. 3
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”

5. 4
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

6. 5
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

7. 6
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

8. 7
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

9. 8
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

10. 9
Heuristic
Definition
A 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 making
Trough 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 heuristic
Sometimes 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.

11. 10
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.

12. 11
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.