El problema de la ideología: el marxismo sin garantías

Wiggins and Bollwerk (2006) studied the heuristic- based approach and researched the impact of the acquisition of task-related information on the selection of an optimal alternative during simulated in-flight Decision-making. Wiggins and Bollwerk (2006) found that in arriving at a decision, the decision maker acquires information, examines and acts upon it, based on the demands of the task, utilizing his knowledge and experience. It required optimal and timely encoding of information, optimal and timely recall of information from memory, integrate the information acquired to formulate a mental representation of the situation, and finally develop and implement an appropriate response. The fact that this would depend upon the individual decision maker and the features associated with the task was noted by Wiggins and Bollwerk (2006).

The efficiency of the process relates to the time taken to acquire and process the information necessary to achieve an optimal outcome. The accuracy and efficiency of information processing by an individual would depend upon the capacity to acquire, encode, and process information (Ackerman & Cianciolo, 2002). This capacity could have been enhanced through task-oriented experiences (Cellier, Eyrolle, & Marine, 1997). Supporting this assertion is Wiggins and O'Hare (2003) who found that experienced operators utilized their skills to identify relevant cues from an otherwise cluttered environment, thereby reducing the demands on information processing. Conversely, for less experienced operators, an increase in cognitive demands are typically associated with a reduction in performance.

Information acquisition and pilot performance were investigated by Prince, Hārtel, and Salas (1993). Performance of experienced and inexperienced flight crews was compared during two simulated flights. Prince et al. (1993) called it adaptive decision-making wherein flights

were designed to provide the crew with three decision points. The videotapes of flights were used to assess the pilot performance. The results among inexperienced crew indicated that at least two of the problems presented were approached using a consistent process, such that rapid problem in one is associated with a rapid problem in another. A diverse and variable pattern of behaviour was noticed with an experienced crew, who utilized idiosyncratic strategies to respond to the characteristics associated with the task. Prince et al. (1993) concluded that the differences between the decision heuristics employed by experienced and inexperienced pilots reflected the extent to which experience within the operational environment can alter the nature of the decision-making process. The acquisition of experience appears to be characterized by the ability to adapt or manipulate previously acquired knowledge to solve novel problems (Dreyfus & Dreyfus, 2009; Anderson, 1993). Patel and Groen (1991) attributing the ability to adapt to novel problems by experienced operators to have the capacity to process and respond to task-related information faster than inexperienced operators. Andrew (1993) referred to this capacity to process and respond as the product of automatization, in which conditions and associated actions form self-contained units in long-term memory. Klein (1989) argued that the speed with which experts respond is attributable to the immediate and spontaneous recognition of task-related cues being familiar and to the activation of a previous exemplar from long-term memory.

Wiggins and Bollwerk (2006) hypothesized that pilot experience would be associated with the selection of an optimal alternative during the three familiarization scenarios that were studied. However, the results revealed that experience as pilot in command, rather than total experience or recent experience, was positively related to the selection of the optimal alternatives across three scenarios. Active participation as a pilot in command and not total experience by way of simple involvement in a task, is found to be a necessary component for the acquisition of cognitive skills (Barsam & Simutis, 1984; Kashihara, Kinshuk, Oppermann, Rashev, & Simm, 2000). The relative perception of the ease or difficulty associated with one information acquisition strategy over another suggested that there is a relationship between a heuristic- based process of information acquisition and the perceived management of information during a simulated in-flight decision. It could be argued based on finding by Wiggins and Bollwerk (2006) that active and recent task-related experience determines the selection of an optimal outcome during non–time constrained, simulated in-flight decision-making. Presentation of

information using a particular heuristic-based strategy did not determine the selection of an optimal outcome when the time was not a constraint (Wiggins & Bollwerk, 2006). However, it was also clear that there are differences between pilots regarding their preference for a particular heuristic-based strategy. The highest proportion of participants selected the strategy that was least efficient regarding the time taken to acquire the information before the selection of an alternative.

To better understand decision-making, further research with emphasis on the relationship between heuristic-based approaches of information acquisition and decision-making in complex, dynamic environments would help (Wiggins & Bollwerk, 2006). Selection of optimal alternatives upon information acquisition is the key. It is influenced by time constraints and increased workload, especially when the decisions vary from being intuitive to being analytic based on the situation (Hammond et al., 1997). The next section reviews the Hammond’s Cognitive Continuum theory.