Ralph Schroeder
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195371284
- eISBN:
- 9780199865000
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195371284.001.0001
- Subject:
- Psychology, Human-Technology Interaction
Virtual environments provide places for “being there together”, for avatars to interact with each other in computer-generated spaces. They range from immersive systems in which people have life-size ...
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Virtual environments provide places for “being there together”, for avatars to interact with each other in computer-generated spaces. They range from immersive systems in which people have life-size tracked avatar bodies to large-scale spaces such as Second Life where populations of users socialize in persistent virtual worlds. This book draws together research on how people interact in virtual environments: What difference does avatar appearance make? How do avatars collaborate and play together? How do the type of system and the space affect how people engage with each other? How does interaction between avatars differ from face-to-face interaction? What can social scientists learn from experiments and other studies of how people interact in virtual environments? What are the ethical and social issues in doing this research, and in the uses of this technology? And how do virtual environments differ from other communication technologies such as videoconferencing systems and other new media? This book is a state-of-the art survey of research on these topics, and offers a framework for understanding this technology and its future implications.Less
Virtual environments provide places for “being there together”, for avatars to interact with each other in computer-generated spaces. They range from immersive systems in which people have life-size tracked avatar bodies to large-scale spaces such as Second Life where populations of users socialize in persistent virtual worlds. This book draws together research on how people interact in virtual environments: What difference does avatar appearance make? How do avatars collaborate and play together? How do the type of system and the space affect how people engage with each other? How does interaction between avatars differ from face-to-face interaction? What can social scientists learn from experiments and other studies of how people interact in virtual environments? What are the ethical and social issues in doing this research, and in the uses of this technology? And how do virtual environments differ from other communication technologies such as videoconferencing systems and other new media? This book is a state-of-the art survey of research on these topics, and offers a framework for understanding this technology and its future implications.
Peter M. Todd and Gerd Gigerenzer
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780195315448
- eISBN:
- 9780199932429
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195315448.001.0001
- Subject:
- Psychology, Cognitive Psychology, Human-Technology Interaction
The idea that more information and more computation yield better decisions has long shaped our vision of rationality. Yet humans and other animals typically rely on simple heuristics or rules of ...
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The idea that more information and more computation yield better decisions has long shaped our vision of rationality. Yet humans and other animals typically rely on simple heuristics or rules of thumb to solve adaptive problems, focusing on one or a few important cues and ignoring the rest, and shortcutting computation rather than striving for as much as possible. In this book, the authors argue that in an uncertain world, more information and computation are not always better, and instead ask when, and why, less can be more. The answers to these questions constitute the idea of ecological rationality, as explored in the chapters in this book: how people can be effective decision makers by using simple heuristics that fit well to the structure of their environment. When people wield the right tool from the mind’s adaptive toolbox for a particular situation, they can make good choices with little information or computation—enabling simple strategies to excel by exploiting the reliable patterns in the world to do some of the work. Heuristics are not good or bad, “biased” or “unbiased,” on their own, but only in relation to the setting in which they are used. The authors show heuristics and environments fitting together to produce good decisions in domains including sports competitions, the search for a parking space, business group meetings, and doctor/patient interactions. The message of Ecological Rationality is to study mind and environment in tandem. Intelligence is not only in the mind but also in the world, captured in the structures of information inherent in our physical, biological, social, and cultural surroundings.Less
The idea that more information and more computation yield better decisions has long shaped our vision of rationality. Yet humans and other animals typically rely on simple heuristics or rules of thumb to solve adaptive problems, focusing on one or a few important cues and ignoring the rest, and shortcutting computation rather than striving for as much as possible. In this book, the authors argue that in an uncertain world, more information and computation are not always better, and instead ask when, and why, less can be more. The answers to these questions constitute the idea of ecological rationality, as explored in the chapters in this book: how people can be effective decision makers by using simple heuristics that fit well to the structure of their environment. When people wield the right tool from the mind’s adaptive toolbox for a particular situation, they can make good choices with little information or computation—enabling simple strategies to excel by exploiting the reliable patterns in the world to do some of the work. Heuristics are not good or bad, “biased” or “unbiased,” on their own, but only in relation to the setting in which they are used. The authors show heuristics and environments fitting together to produce good decisions in domains including sports competitions, the search for a parking space, business group meetings, and doctor/patient interactions. The message of Ecological Rationality is to study mind and environment in tandem. Intelligence is not only in the mind but also in the world, captured in the structures of information inherent in our physical, biological, social, and cultural surroundings.
Jon Kolko
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- May 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199744336
- eISBN:
- 9780199894710
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199744336.001.0001
- Subject:
- Psychology, Cognitive Models and Architectures, Human-Technology Interaction
As the world deals with increasing complexity—in issues of sustainability, finance, culture, and technology—business and governments are searching for a form of problem solving that can deal with the ...
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As the world deals with increasing complexity—in issues of sustainability, finance, culture, and technology—business and governments are searching for a form of problem solving that can deal with the unprecedented levels of ambiguity and chaos. Traditional "linear thinking" has been disparaged by the popular media as being inadequate for dealing with the global economic crisis. Standard forms of marketing and product development have been rejected by businesses who need to find a way to stay competitive in a global economy. Yet little has been offered as an alternative. It is not enough to demand that someone "be more innovative" without giving him the tools to succeed. Design synthesis is a way of thinking about complicated, multifaceted problems of this scale with a repeatable degree of success. Design synthesis methods can be applied in business, with the goal of producing new and compelling products and services, and they can be applied in government, with the goal of changing culture and bettering society. In both contexts, however, there is a need for speed and for aggressive action. This text is immediately relevant, and is more relevant than ever, as we acknowledge and continually reference a feeling of an impending and massive change. Simply, this text is intended to act as a practitioner's guide to exposing the magic of design.Less
As the world deals with increasing complexity—in issues of sustainability, finance, culture, and technology—business and governments are searching for a form of problem solving that can deal with the unprecedented levels of ambiguity and chaos. Traditional "linear thinking" has been disparaged by the popular media as being inadequate for dealing with the global economic crisis. Standard forms of marketing and product development have been rejected by businesses who need to find a way to stay competitive in a global economy. Yet little has been offered as an alternative. It is not enough to demand that someone "be more innovative" without giving him the tools to succeed. Design synthesis is a way of thinking about complicated, multifaceted problems of this scale with a repeatable degree of success. Design synthesis methods can be applied in business, with the goal of producing new and compelling products and services, and they can be applied in government, with the goal of changing culture and bettering society. In both contexts, however, there is a need for speed and for aggressive action. This text is immediately relevant, and is more relevant than ever, as we acknowledge and continually reference a feeling of an impending and massive change. Simply, this text is intended to act as a practitioner's guide to exposing the magic of design.
Gerd Gigerenzer, Ralph Hertwig, and Thorsten Pachur (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- May 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199744282
- eISBN:
- 9780199894727
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199744282.001.0001
- Subject:
- Psychology, Cognitive Psychology, Human-Technology Interaction
How do people make decisions when time is limited, information unreliable, and the future uncertain? Based on the work of Herbert A. Simon and with the help of colleagues around the world, the ...
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How do people make decisions when time is limited, information unreliable, and the future uncertain? Based on the work of Herbert A. Simon and with the help of colleagues around the world, the Adaptive Behavior and Cognition (ABC) Group at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Berlin has developed a research program on simple heuristics, also known as fast and frugal heuristics. These heuristics are efficient cognitive processes that ignore information and exploit the structure of the environment. In contrast to the widely held view that less complex processing necessarily reduces accuracy, the analytical and empirical analyses of fast and frugal heuristics demonstrate that less information and computation can in fact improve accuracy. These results represent an existence proof that cognitive processes capable of successful performance in the real world do not need to satisfy the classical norms of rationality. Thus, simple heuristics embody ecological rather than logical rationality. By providing a fresh look at how the mind works as well as the nature of rational behavior, the simple heuristics approach has stimulated a large body of research, led to fascinating applications in diverse fields from law to medicine to business to sports, and instigated controversial debates in psychology, philosophy, and economics. This book contains key chapters that have been previously published in journals across many disciplines. These chapters present theory, real-world applications, and a sample of the large number of existing experimental studies that provide evidence for people's adaptive use of simple heuristics.Less
How do people make decisions when time is limited, information unreliable, and the future uncertain? Based on the work of Herbert A. Simon and with the help of colleagues around the world, the Adaptive Behavior and Cognition (ABC) Group at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Berlin has developed a research program on simple heuristics, also known as fast and frugal heuristics. These heuristics are efficient cognitive processes that ignore information and exploit the structure of the environment. In contrast to the widely held view that less complex processing necessarily reduces accuracy, the analytical and empirical analyses of fast and frugal heuristics demonstrate that less information and computation can in fact improve accuracy. These results represent an existence proof that cognitive processes capable of successful performance in the real world do not need to satisfy the classical norms of rationality. Thus, simple heuristics embody ecological rather than logical rationality. By providing a fresh look at how the mind works as well as the nature of rational behavior, the simple heuristics approach has stimulated a large body of research, led to fascinating applications in diverse fields from law to medicine to business to sports, and instigated controversial debates in psychology, philosophy, and economics. This book contains key chapters that have been previously published in journals across many disciplines. These chapters present theory, real-world applications, and a sample of the large number of existing experimental studies that provide evidence for people's adaptive use of simple heuristics.
D. E. Broadbent, J. Reason, and A. Baddeley (eds)
- Published in print:
- 1990
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780198521914
- eISBN:
- 9780191688454
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198521914.001.0001
- Subject:
- Psychology, Human-Technology Interaction
Human performance is a key factor in the operation of many systems: for example, in nuclear power installations and in transport. The topics discussed in this volume are of both theoretical and ...
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Human performance is a key factor in the operation of many systems: for example, in nuclear power installations and in transport. The topics discussed in this volume are of both theoretical and practical relevance. The contributions were presented and discussed at a Royal Society meeting in June 1989 and also appeared in the Society's Philosophical Transactions series B in 1990. Together they provide a valuable survey of areas in which research of special significance is being done. This volume is concerned with practical aspects of environmental risk, work design, and complex human-machine operations.Less
Human performance is a key factor in the operation of many systems: for example, in nuclear power installations and in transport. The topics discussed in this volume are of both theoretical and practical relevance. The contributions were presented and discussed at a Royal Society meeting in June 1989 and also appeared in the Society's Philosophical Transactions series B in 1990. Together they provide a valuable survey of areas in which research of special significance is being done. This volume is concerned with practical aspects of environmental risk, work design, and complex human-machine operations.
Kim Vicente
Alex Kirlik (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199765140
- eISBN:
- 9780199863358
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199765140.001.0001
- Subject:
- Psychology, Human-Technology Interaction
This book coins the term “human-tech” to describe a more encompassing and ambitious approach to the study of Human-Technology Interaction (HTI) than is now evident in any of its participating ...
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This book coins the term “human-tech” to describe a more encompassing and ambitious approach to the study of Human-Technology Interaction (HTI) than is now evident in any of its participating disciplines, such as human factors, human-computer interaction, cognitive science and engineering, industrial design, informatics or applied psychology. Observing that the way forward is “not by widgets alone”, this book's human-tech approach addresses every level—physical, psychological, team, organizational, and political—at which technology impacts quality of life, identifies a human or societal need, and then tailors technology to what we know about human nature at that level. This collection of chapters and commentaries forms a set of recommendations for how HTI research ought to broaden both its perspective and its practical, even ethical, aspirations to meet the increasingly complicated challenges of designing technology to support human work, to improve quality of life, and to design the way will live with technology.Less
This book coins the term “human-tech” to describe a more encompassing and ambitious approach to the study of Human-Technology Interaction (HTI) than is now evident in any of its participating disciplines, such as human factors, human-computer interaction, cognitive science and engineering, industrial design, informatics or applied psychology. Observing that the way forward is “not by widgets alone”, this book's human-tech approach addresses every level—physical, psychological, team, organizational, and political—at which technology impacts quality of life, identifies a human or societal need, and then tailors technology to what we know about human nature at that level. This collection of chapters and commentaries forms a set of recommendations for how HTI research ought to broaden both its perspective and its practical, even ethical, aspirations to meet the increasingly complicated challenges of designing technology to support human work, to improve quality of life, and to design the way will live with technology.
Eser Kandogan, Paul Maglio, Eben Haber, and John Bailey
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780195374124
- eISBN:
- 9780199979134
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195374124.001.0001
- Subject:
- Psychology, Human-Technology Interaction
Information technology is the foundation of modern life. When talking on the phone, using the Web, or getting money from an ATM, we rely on computers, networks, and databases – systems of information ...
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Information technology is the foundation of modern life. When talking on the phone, using the Web, or getting money from an ATM, we rely on computers, networks, and databases – systems of information technologies. What keeps these systems running? The answer is people: computer system administrators. Most of the time, the people are invisible. They work out of sight, down in the data-center, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. We only notice them when there is a problem – when we cannot get our email or access our money. Most of the time, the systems are remarkably robust. How do system administrators keep systems running as well as they do? And how can we help them be better at their jobs? This book answers these and other questions. Through real-life stories, it documents how dynamic arrangements of people and machines work together to tame complex information technology by developing and adapting tools and practices to create effective work environments and keep systems running.Less
Information technology is the foundation of modern life. When talking on the phone, using the Web, or getting money from an ATM, we rely on computers, networks, and databases – systems of information technologies. What keeps these systems running? The answer is people: computer system administrators. Most of the time, the people are invisible. They work out of sight, down in the data-center, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. We only notice them when there is a problem – when we cannot get our email or access our money. Most of the time, the systems are remarkably robust. How do system administrators keep systems running as well as they do? And how can we help them be better at their jobs? This book answers these and other questions. Through real-life stories, it documents how dynamic arrangements of people and machines work together to tame complex information technology by developing and adapting tools and practices to create effective work environments and keep systems running.