UNIVERSITY OF HERTFORDSHIRE
    	     COMPUTER SCIENCE RESEARCH COLLOQUIUM

	     		        presents


      "Statistical regularities in natural decision environments"


		                 Dr. Ozgur Simsek

	   (Department of Computer Science, University of Bath)

		             8 May 2019 (Wednesday)

			            13:00 - 14:00


		        Hatfield, College Lane Campus
		             Seminar Room B154 (NOTE ROOM CHANGE)

	    	    Everyone is welcome to attend

	     	    Refreshments will be available

Abstract:

Decision heuristics are simple methods of decision making that use few pieces of information - sometimes a single piece of information - and combine the pieces in simple ways, for example, by giving them equal weight or considering them sequentially. Several mathematical conditions are known to enable such simple methods to decide correctly. They include dominance relationships among alternatives and noncompensation among the attributes. I will first present an empirical investigation of the prevalence of these conditions on one-shot decision problems in natural environments. I will then explore how they can be useful in sequential decision problems, using the game of Tetris as an example.