How can we apply decision-making theories to wild animal behavior? Predictions arising from dual process theory and Bayesian decision theory.

Our understanding of decision-making processes and cognitive biases is ever increasing, thanks to an accumulation of testable models and a large body of research over the last several decades. The vast majority of this work has been done in humans and laboratory animals because these study subjects and situations allow for tightly controlled experiments. However, it raises questions about how this knowledge can be applied to wild animals in their complex environments. Here, we review two prominent decision-making theories, dual process theory and Bayesian decision theory, to assess the similarities in these approaches and consider how they may apply to wild animals living in heterogenous environments within complicated social groupings. In particular, we wanted to assess when wild animals are likely to respond to a situation with a quick heuristic decision and when they are likely to spend more time and energy on the decision-making process. Based on the literature and evidence from our multi-destination routing experiments on primates, we find that individuals are likely to make quick, heuristic decisions when they encounter routine situations, or signals/cues that accurately predict a certain outcome, or easy problems that experience or evolutionary history has prepared them for. Conversely, effortful decision-making is likely in novel or surprising situations, when signals and cues have unpredictable or uncertain relationships to an outcome, and when problems are computationally complex. Though if problems are overly complex, satisficing via heuristics is likely, to avoid costly mental effort. We present hypotheses for how animals with different socio-ecologies may have to distribute their cognitive effort. Finally, we examine the conservation implications and potential cognitive overload for animals experiencing increasingly novel situations caused by current human-induced rapid environmental change.

Reducing Student Workload Through Curricular Efficiency.

OBJECTIVE: This integrative review will examine the current literature assessing student workload, outcomes of increased workload and cognitive load, and approaches to evaluate and reduce student workload. Recommendations to better inform curriculum planning efforts will be presented along with a call to action to address the dilemma of student workload and curricular efficiency efforts. FINDINGS: Literature supports that perceptions of heavy workload can influence students' approach to learning and lead to the adoption of surface learning rather than a deep approach that involves higher-order processing and critical thinking. Additionally, ongoing evidence suggests that workload expansion affects student well-being and potential burnout in professional programs, and specifically that students perceive workload as directly related to their well-being and satisfaction. Intentional planning by faculty and programs can address this issue through streamlining classroom content, reducing lecture time, and modifying preclass work to allow for efficient learning. Even if the curriculum is lecture-based, workload perceptions can be affected by developing clearer guidance to set expectations for learners, intentionality in classroom design, and creating opportunities for student engagement. SUMMARY: Cognitive overload is multifactorial and complicated, given the increased standards of professional education accreditation and licensure requirements. As the Academy deliberately considers methods to improve curricular efficiency, there is an opportunity to focus on curriculum delivery with an appropriate balance of breadth and depth of instruction to ensure effective assessment and cognitive load.

[Application of artificial intelligence systems in the emergency room : Do the communication patterns give indications for possible starting points? An observational study]. / Anwendung von Systemen der künstlichen Intelligenz im Schockraum : Geben die Kommunikationsmuster Hinweise auf mögliche Ansatzpunkte? Eine Beobachtungsstudie.

BACKGROUND: High expectations are currently attached to the application of artificial intelligence (AI) in the resuscitation room treatment of trauma patients with respect to the development of decision support systems. No data are available regarding possible starting points for AI-controlled interventions in resuscitation room treatment. OBJECTIVE: Do information request behavior and quality of communication indicate possible starting points for AI applications in the emergency room? MATERIAL AND METHODS: A 2­stage qualitative observational study: 1. Development of an observation sheet based on expert interviews that depicts the following six relevant topics: situational factors (course of accident, environment), vital parameters, treatment-specific Information (treatment carried out). trauma-specific factors (injury patterns), medication, special features of the patient (anamnesis, etc.) 2. Observational study Which topics were inquired about during emergency room treatment? Was the exchange of information complete? RESULTS: There were 40 consecutive observations in the emergency room. A total of 130 questions: 57/130 inquiries about medication/treatment-specific Information and vital parameters, 19/28 of which were inquiries about medication. Questions about injury-related parameters 31/130 with 18/31 regarding injury patterns, course of accident (8/31) and type of accident (5/31). Questions about medical or demographic background 42/130. Within this group, pre-existing illnesses (14/42) and demographic background (10/42) were the most frequently asked questions. Incomplete exchange of information was found in all six subject areas. CONCLUSION: Questioning behavior and incomplete communication indicate a cognitive overload. Assistance systems that prevent cognitive overload can maintain decision-making abilities and communication skills. Which AI methods can be used requires further research.

How student perceptions about online learning difficulty influenced their satisfaction during Canada's Covid-19 response.

The COVID-19 pandemic has posed a significant challenge to higher education and forced academic institutions across the globe to abruptly shift to remote teaching. Because of the emergent transition, higher education institutions continuously face difficulties in creating satisfactory online learning experiences that adhere to the new norms. This study investigates the transition to online learning during Covid-19 to identify factors that influenced students' satisfaction with the online learning environment. Adopting a mixed-method design, we find that students' experience with online learning can be negatively affected by information overload, and perceived technical skill requirements, and describe qualitative evidence that suggest a lack of social interactions, class format, and ambiguous communication also affected perceived learning. This study suggests that to digitalize higher education successfully, institutions need to redesign students' learning experience systematically and re-evaluate traditional pedagogical approaches in the online context.

From cognitive overload to digital detox: Psychological implications of telework during the COVID-19 pandemic.

For most people, telework during the COVID-19 pandemic necessitates the increased use of digital tools. Although working from home can enhance flexibility, it comes with various psychological challenges, all of which can be substantially exacerbated for people during the COVID-19 pandemic. The increased need to use digital tools can create cognitive overload that may negatively impact work productivity and well-being. The idea of digital detox has received increasing attention in the last few years as a means for recovering from stress caused by the use of digital media. This paper presents an analysis of the relationships between the use of digital work tools, the feeling of cognitive overload, digital detox measures, perceived work performance, and well-being. Results from an online survey (N = 403) conducted during the period of strict lockdown measures in Germany in April and May 2020 indicate that the relationship between the use of text-based tools and well-being, but not perceived job performance, is mediated by cognitive overload. These relationships were not found for the use of videoconferencing tools. However, for users of these tools, the number of digital detox measures moderates the relationship between cognitive overload and the perception of work demands.

Construction of Knowledge Through Doing: A Brachial Plexus Model from Pipe Cleaners.

Medical students often struggle with the complexity of the brachial plexus, so instructions were developed for making a model of the brachial plexus from pipe cleaners following a didactic presentation of the material. Providing students the opportunity to construct the brachial plexus reduced cognitive overload, thus allowing students' working memory to attend to pertinent information and create mental schema of the structures. This activity allows the students to actively engage with the material and have a model from which to study with minimal cost requirements. The model was initially utilized in the final unit of a stand-alone gross anatomy course, followed closely by both a unit exam and a cumulative standardized exam. The following year, the curriculum was significantly changed so that the activity was presented during the first unit of the course followed closely by the unit exam and the cumulative final exam several months later. Students were surveyed on their opinions of the activity, perceived understanding of the material, and utilization of the model. Results demonstrated that students enjoyed the activity and felt it improved their understanding of the brachial plexus, especially in the second scenario. Students responded positively to the activity and felt that it would make a good study tool. In the second scenario, students also reported using the model to study throughout the semester. These results indicate that this low-cost model was helpful to the students, particularly if they need to study the material over an extended period of time. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40670-021-01274-2.

Examining the meaning of the language used to communicate the nursing hand-off.

The miscommunication and inconsistent recall of patient information due to cognitive lapses that occur during the hand-off between healthcare providers account for 80% of sentinel events in acute care. Cognitive lapses are a consequence of the nurse experiencing cognitive overload, which impedes the nurse's ability to recall relevant information during and after the hand-off communication. The primary cognitive and human factor contributing to cognitive overload in the hand-off is language. The purpose of this study was to examine the meaning of the language used to communicate the nurse-to-nurse change of shift hand-off occurring at bedside and nonbedside on a medical-surgical unit in an urban medical center. A qualitative descriptive design was used. The sample was 10 audio-recorded hand-offs (five bedside and five nonbedside), with a total of 19 nurses participating. A natural language process program was used to analyze the data. The hand-off is a narrative story centered on communicating patient information delivered with a high degree of confidence. The hand-off is focused on past and current events with minimal focus on future or anticipated events. The drive to communicate is minimally based on concern, fear, or danger. There is a difference in the language used to communicate the nursing hand-off message at bedside as compared to the nonbedside hand-off.

Fussy groups thwart the collective burden of choice: A theoretical study of house-hunting ants.

Information is crucial to effective decision making, but too much information can be as detrimental as too little. Pooling information allows group-living organisms to benefit from the 'wisdom of the crowds', but could also increase the risk of information overload if not complemented by increased information processing capacity. In this study I use an agent-based model and empirical tests to explore the influence of group-size on information accumulation, and the impact of this on collective decision-making. Larger groups were more effective at sampling the environment in simulations and empirical trials. Simulations suggest this this could render them more susceptible to information overload in candidate-rich environments, in which larger groups suffered delays to decision making because of poorly focussed information sharing. However, the cost of excessive information could be ameliorated if individuals are 'fussy' and filter information by withholding information on poor candidates. This may explain observations from empirical trials, in which higher rates of information accumulation in larger groups did not have a clear impact on decision making. These results suggest groups face a potential collective burden of choice from excessive novel information in complex environments. However, collective information-filtering mechanisms analogous to those in the brains of unitary organisms could allow groups to exploit the wisdom of the crowds without suffering from information overload.

The Psychology of Superorganisms: Collective Decision Making by Insect Societies.

Under the superorganism concept, insect societies are so tightly integrated that they possess features analogous to those of single organisms, including collective cognition. If so, colony function might fruitfully be studied using methods developed to understand individual animals. Here, we review research that uses psychological approaches to understand decision making by colonies. The application of neural models to collective choice shows fundamental similarities between how brains and colonies balance speed/accuracy trade-offs in decision making. Experimental analyses have explored collective rationality, cognitive capacity, and perceptual discrimination at both individual and colony levels. A major theme is the emergence of improved colony-level function from interactions among relatively less capable individuals. However, colonies also encounter performance costs due to their reliance on positive feedback, which generates consensus but can also amplify errors. Collective learning is a nascent field for the further application of psychological methods to colonies. The research strategy reviewed here shows how the superorganism concept can serve as more than an illustrative analogy.

Julgamento moral do aborto: influência da atitude prévia, princípios deontológicos e utilitaristas / Abortion moral judgement: influence of previous attitude, deonthological and utilitarian principles / Juicio moral del aborto: influencia de la actitud previa, principios deontológicos y utilitaristas

Julgamentos morais fazem parte do cotidiano das pessoas e processos cognitivos são utilizados como base para a formulação de um julgamento moral. Este trabalho tem como objetivo mensurar o efeito covariante da atitude prévia em relação a um tema moral na relação entre a sobrecarga cognitiva e o julgamento de um cenário moral. O Experimento 1 testou a relação direta entre princípios morais (i.e., deontológico e utilitarista) e sobrecarga cognitiva em uma tarefa de julgamento moral. No Experimento 2, foi testada a interferência da atitude prévia em tarefa de julgamento moral. Em ambos os experimentos, a amostra foi composta por estudantes universitário, em sua maioria homens. Os resultados sugerem que a sobrecarga cognitiva induz um julgamento de origem deontológica e que a atitude prévia em relação a um objeto moral interfere significativamente na tarefa de julgamento moral independente do cenário. (AU)

Moral judgments are part of everyday life and cognitive processes are used as a basis for formulating them. The objective of this study is to measure the covariant effect of prior attitude toward a moral issue in the relationship between cognitive overload and judgment of a moral issue. The first experiment tests the direct relationship between moral principles (i.e. deontological and utilitarian) and cognitive overload in a moral judgment task. The second experiment tests the interference of prior attitude in a moral judgment task. In both experiments the sample was composed by undergraduate students, mostly men. The results suggest that cognitive overload induces a deontological judgment and that prior attitude toward a moral object interferes significantly in the moral judgment task, regardless of the context. (AU)

Juicios morales hacen parte de lo cotidiano de las personas y procesos cognitivos son utilizados como base para la formulación de un juicio moral. Este estudio tiene como objetivo medir el efecto covariable de la actitud previa con relación a un tema moral en la relación entre la sobrecarga cognitiva y el juicio de un escenario moral. El primer experimento pone a prueba la relación directa entre los principios morales (i.e. deontológico y utilitarista) y sobrecarga cognitiva en una tarea de juicio moral. El segundo experimento pone a prueba la interferencia de la actitud previa en la tarea de juicio moral. En ambos experimentos la muestra fue compuesta por estudiantes universitarios, en su mayoría hombres. Los resultados sugieren que la sobrecarga cognitiva induce a un juicio de origen deontológico y que la actitud previa con relación a un objeto moral interfiere significativamente en la tarea de juicio moral independiente del escenario. (AU)