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W2235: Decision Diary: 1. Description of Your Decision

This document outlines an assignment for students to analyze a personal decision they made recently using concepts from class. Students are to write a 3 page double spaced analysis of a decision addressing various elements: 1) briefly describing the decision, 2) analyzing goals and decision making process used by addressing factors like goals, decision modes, conflicts between goals/modes, and potential cognitive biases. The analysis should use concepts from class on decision modes and goal types. The assignment aims to help students delve deeper into their own decision making processes.

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68 views2 pages

W2235: Decision Diary: 1. Description of Your Decision

This document outlines an assignment for students to analyze a personal decision they made recently using concepts from class. Students are to write a 3 page double spaced analysis of a decision addressing various elements: 1) briefly describing the decision, 2) analyzing goals and decision making process used by addressing factors like goals, decision modes, conflicts between goals/modes, and potential cognitive biases. The analysis should use concepts from class on decision modes and goal types. The assignment aims to help students delve deeper into their own decision making processes.

Uploaded by

LuisSanchez
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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W2235: Decision Diary

Due Thursday, March 26, in class


This assignment is designed to help you delve into a specific decision mode and think about
different types of goals by analyzing one of your own decisions.
Format of the Assignment:
Your analysis should be relatively short (no longer than 3 pages, double-spaced, 12-point Times
New Roman or 11-point Arial, 1-inch margins).
A complete assignment will include one paragraph for each of the numbered/lettered points in the
outline below (1a, and 2a-f), and will address all of the bullet points from the outline below that are
relevant to the decision (not every bullet point will apply to your decision, but most will). You are
encouraged to write the assignment in outline format (you dont have to, but your TAs will thank
you for labeling each of your sections to match the outline below), but please do use complete
sentences.
Please submit your assignment in hard copy in class on Thursday, March 26. Late decision
diaries will lose 5 points per day past the due date, and should be turned in to Prof. FoxGlassmans box in the Psych Department hallway.
Content of the Assignment:
Think of a decision youve made recently. It should be one that youre willing to share the details of
candidly, and one that will provide you with enough process to analyze. So what I decided to eat
for lunch wont be good for this assignment, but which classes I decided to take this spring or
which new computer I chose to buy or where I decided to take my date out for dinner could all
be be good options. Its not important to write about a decision that had a good process or
outcomeyoull be graded on your analysis of the decision, not on your outcome, so pick a
decision that you care enough about to spend some time reflecting on it, and one that can stand up
to some analysis.
Write a short analysis (diary) of your chosen decision. Use the guide to different decision
modes posted under Lecture 14 in the CourseWorks Syllabus section (and what we covered
in lecture about each mode), as well as the different types of goals that we talked about in lecture.
Your diary needs to include the following elements:
1. Description of your decision (10 points)
a. Very briefly describe the decision situation.
! What was it about?
! How did you know you had to make a decision?
Did someone provide you with a set of choices, or did you encounter
some problem that had to be addressed? If the latter, how did you
figure out what your set of choice options was?
2. Analysis of your decision (60 points)
a. What were your goals as you faced this decision?* You may not consciously have
considered those goals at the time, but looking back, what were you trying to
achieve?
Provide a short list, and identify the category for each goal (material, social,
etc.). For a goal that fits into multiple categories, you may need to explain
what was emotional/cognitive/social/etc. about it for you, personally.

b. What mode or modes did you use to evaluate your choice options? Describe the
process you went through using this mode or these modes, and the final choice that
each mode led you to.
c. How did your goals relate to the decision mode(s) that you used?
Were the modes that you used determined by the goals that were most
important to you?
Did the mode you used determine which of your goals was seriously
considered during your decision process?
Given what you know about the ability of different modes to satisfy different
meta-goals, did you choose the right mode or modes?
d. Did you experience any conflict between goals or between modes?
If so, how did you resolve this conflict?
If not, briefly explain why your goals and/or modes aligned so well.
e. Looking back, do you think your judgment or choices might have been influenced by
any cognitive biases or heuristics? (In other words, could an effect like optimism
bias or the availability heuristic have caused you to judge your options or make a
different decision than you might have if you had been deciding in a more purely
rational way?)
If so, do you think the bias or heuristic was helpful or harmful for your
particular situation?
If not, mention one bias or heuristic that other people may have fallen victim
to for this type of decision, and briefly note how you were able to
avoid/overcome it.
f. Overall, did the decision turn out to be good or bad?
Was the decision process itself good/bad, or just the outcome, or both?
If you had to make a similar decision in the future, would you use a similar
process? Is there a mode that you think might have led you to a better
outcome?
You will also get points for overall clarity, writing quality, and direction following. (10 points)
Everyone will start out with the full 10 points for this category. You will lose points from this
category if your diary contains a lot of typos, grammatical errors, or confusing/incomplete
sentences; if you go over the page limit or use smaller fonts or margins than the assignment
specifies; if you dont include your name on your paper; etc.

*Note that youre asked here to identify decision goals, regardless of whether or not the decision
mode you used was goal-satisfaction-based decision making. For example, a father could have the
material goal of not ruining his new suit, but he might still make the decision to kneel in the mud to
comfort his injured child; in this case, he would be making a role-based decision regardless of
having that material goal. If he were writing a decision diary about that choice, he would describe
that material goal and any other goals he can identify (perhaps only in retrospect) in section 2a,
and then address that conflict he experienced between modes in section 2d.

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