Industrial-Organizational Psychology Learning ModuleJudgment and Decision Making :Industrial-Organizational Psychology Learning ModuleJudgment and Decision Making


Objectives: :1/8/2009 Objectives: Understand the kinds of decisions made within organizations Recognize common judgment biases Know how I/O psychologists help people avoid biases


What kinds of decisions do people make in the workplace? :1/8/2009 What kinds of decisions do people make in the workplace? Handling complex problems individually Pilot flight diversion decisions Handling complex problems as a team Surgical Team Focusing effort 9-1-1 Emergency Dispatcher Judging people Rating employee performance on the job Using interviews to choose job applicants


Biases in Decision Making :1/8/2009 Biases in Decision Making Halo errors Negative information Stereotypes Heuristics-mental shortcuts confirmation bias


How do I/O psychologists help people avoid bias during interviews? :1/8/2009 How do I/O psychologists help people avoid bias during interviews? Develop clear criteria through: job analysis relevant structured and situational interview questions Rater training practice feedback


Example interview question :1/8/2009 Example interview question Situational question for restaurant crew: Suppose you saw a sandwich order in the window with wilted lettuce, in the middle of a huge rush. What would you do? Potential answers and their rating: (+) would discard the wilted sandwich (0) would send sandwich to kitchen to have the lettuce replaced (-) would serve the sandwich as is


Exercise: Create structured and situational interview questions :1/8/2009 Exercise: Create structured and situational interview questions Choose a job that you are fairly knowledgeable about. Describe a common stereotype that someone might use when judging a person for this job. Develop one question that you could ask that would eliminate your need to make assumptions based on the stereotype. Also identify examples of good or poor responses.


Exercise: Create structured and situational interview questions :1/8/2009 Exercise: Create structured and situational interview questions Now develop a scenario that someone in this position might experience. Describe it and ask “what would you do in this situation?” Again, provide examples of good and poor responses. Find someone in the room to ‘interview’ and evaluate their answers based on the examples you have generated.


Conclusion :1/8/2009 Conclusion Decisions permeate the workplace Humans often rely on shortcuts and biases, especially when information is incomplete, that can lead to mistakes or errors I/O Psychologists have devised a variety of techniques to help humans accurately collect and utilize information


Resources :1/8/2009 Resources Baron, Jonathan, (Ed); Brown, Rex V., (Ed); et al Teaching decision making to adolescents. p. 161-184. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc, Hillsdale, NJ, USA. Peden, Blaine F.; Keniston, Allen H.; Burke, David T. Learning about individual and collective decisions: All for one and none for all. Teaching of Psychology. Vol 17(4), Dec 1990, 235-238. Larsen, Janet D. Prisoner's dilemma as a model for understanding decisions. Teaching of Psychology. Vol 14(4), Dec 1987, 230-231. Goethals, George R.; Demorest, Amy P. The risky shift is a sure bet. Teaching of Psychology. Vol 6(3), Oct 1979, 177-179.