Heuristics

The Second Annual Transpersonal Research Colloquium (TRC) was held in Northampton, UK on September 15-16, 2016. This document is the final program with presenters abstracts, bios, and contact information. For further information, see www.transpersonalresearchnetwork.com.

Much research in the last two decades has demonstrated that human responses deviate from the performance deemed normative according to various models of decision making and rational judgment (e.g., the basic axioms of utility theory). This gap between the normative and the descriptive can be interpreted as indicating systematic irrationalities in human cognition. However, four alternative interpretations preserve the assumption that human behavior and cognition is largely rational. These posit that the gap is due to (1) performance errors, (2) computational limitations, (3) the wrong norm being applied by the experimenter, and (4) a different construal of the task by the subject. In the debates about the viability of these alternative explanations, attention has been focused too narrowly on the modal response. In a series of experiments involving most of the classic tasks in the heuristics and biases literature, we have examined the implications of individual differences in performa...

Nowadays the main usage of the word "heuristic" is mostly the adjective in the sense of "guiding discovery" or "improving problem solving." The greek mathematicians  used two ways to find a solution: They began by assuming the problem solved and worked from there or they started from the admitted body of mathematical knowledge and worked towards the desired result (analysis or synthesis).

There is also a shorter literature extract of this paper in academia.edu.

The feeling of clarity can be dangerously seductive. It is the feeling associated with understanding things. And we use that feeling, in the rough-and-tumble of daily life, as a signal that we have investigated a matter sufficiently. The sense of clarity functions as a thought-terminating heuristic. In that case, our use of clarity creates significant cognitive vulnerability, which hostile forces can try to exploit. If an epistemic manipulator can imbue a belief system with an exaggerated sense of clarity, then they can induce us to terminate our inquiries too early-before we spot the flaws in the system. How might the sense of clarity be faked? Let's first consider the object of imitation: genuine understanding. Genuine understanding grants cognitive facility. When we understand something, we categorize its aspects more easily; we see more connections between its dis-parate elements; we can generate new explanations; and we can communicate our understanding. In order to encourage us to accept a system of thought, then, an epistemic manipulator will want the system to provide its users with an exaggerated sensation of cognitive facility. The system should provide its users with the feeling that they can easily and powerfully create categorizations, generate explanations, and communicate their understanding. And manipulators have a significant advantage in imbuing their systems with a pleasurable sense of clarity, since they are freed from the burdens of accuracy and reliability. I offer two case studies of seductively clear systems: conspiracy theories; and the standardized, quantified value systems of bureaucracies.

Decision-making is a cognitive process stemming from the analysis of available courses of action related to a given problem. Rationally, potential courses of action are derived from deliberate analysis of available data related to a problem and its potential outcomes. Decisions are generally characterized as normative, descriptive or naturalistic. Normative decisions are based on evidence, logic and analysis; descriptive decisions are based on intuition and experience. Naturalistic decisions are formed as a hybrid of normative and descriptive processes.

For decision-makers the revolution in information technology and the amount and scope of the data they provide has become overwhelming, leading to cognitive overload, confusion and an inability to function effectively. Decision Support Systems (DSS) facilitate data analysis and selection of a viable course of action rapidly and effectively. However, like the human decision- makers they serve, DSS capabilities may also suffer from cognitive overload, inaccuracy, and complexity, especially in time-sensitive environments.

This study explores DSS employment for time-sensitive decision processes using Digitally Aided Close Air Support (DACAS) as a model. The study explores decision theory, models, DSS development and time-sensitive environments. Using DACAS as a model the paper reveals the obstacles and opportunities associated with the employment of DSS for time- sensitive processes. Finally, the study makes recommendations for improved employment of DSS in time-sensitive environments.

Heuristic Evaluation (Nielsen and Molich, 1990; Nielsen, 1994) is a method of usability evaluation where an analyst finds usability problems by checking the user interface against a set of supplied heuristics or principles.

Three new heuristics for software visualisations have been added to the set described in (Nielsen, 1994). A set of evaluation materials for these heuristics are presented, in particular:

• A structured description of Heuristic Evaluation to ease learning and use;
• A self assessed test to allow analysts to assess their understanding of Heuristic Evaluation;
• A checklist of heuristics for use in the analysis;
• Problem record sheets to record usability problems during analysis. Currently, these only record the usability problem predicted. In future, these could be modified to include recommended solutions to these problems (Jeffries, 1994);
• A questionnaire to fill in after the analysis

Heuristic Evaluation (Nielsen and Molich, 1990; Nielsen, 1994) is a method of usability evaluation where an analyst finds usability problems by checking the user interface against a set of supplied heuristics or principles.

A set of evaluation materials for the heuristics described in (Nielsen, 1994) are presented, in particular:

• A structured description of Heuristic Evaluation to ease learning and use;
• A self assessed test to allow analysts to assess their understanding of Heuristic Evaluation;
• A checklist of heuristics for use in the analysis;
• Problem record sheets to record usability problems during analysis. Currently, these only record the usability problem predicted. In future, these could be modified to include recommended solutions to these problems (Jeffries, 1994);
• A questionnaire to fill in after the analysis

Some of Law and Economics’ basic claims have come to be criticized as a result of empirical findings that question their viability. Particularly, the premise that agents consistently act rationally and with their self-interest in mind seems problematic. What the consequences of the criticism mean for Law and Economics’ tenability depends largely on the questions whether (1) some elements are unassailable to the alternative’s objections and (2) the alternative is a systematic whole. It is argued that Law and Economics may be salvaged, if it is minimized and its ambitions are tempered. This means focusing on the stable, a priori, elements inherent to it.

Particle Swarm Optimization is a popular heuristic search algorithm which is inspired by the social learning of birds or fishes. It is a swarm intelligence technique for optimization developed by Eberhart and Kennedy [1] in 1995. Inertia weight is an important parameter in PSO, which significantly affects the convergence and exploration-exploitation trade-off in PSO process. Since inception of Inertia Weight in PSO, a large number of variations of Inertia Weight strategy have been proposed. In order to propose one or more ...

This paper presents a methodology for solving the Periodic Vehicle Routing Problem (PVRP). Customer locations each with a certain daily demand are known, as well as the capacity of vehicles. In this work, the problem is solved by means of a two-phase heuristic. The first phase is the itinerary assignment to visit each customer, and in the second phase the routing is done for each day of the itinerary. The itinerary assignment is made randomly and the routing is solved using the Savings Heuristic. The problem is treated as a bi-objective problem that minimizes the total distance travelled in the time horizon, minimizing also the maximum number of routes in any day. Three instances were solved identifying the non-dominated solutions and presenting them in a graph of the Pareto front. Computational results show that the proposed approach can yield good quality solutions within reasonable running times.

A prototype tool to assist architects during the early design stage of floor plans has been developed, consisting of an Evolutionary Program for the Space Allocation Problem (EPSAP), which generates sets of floor plan alternatives according to the architect's preferences; and a Floor Plan Performance Optimization Program (FPOP), which optimizes the selected solutions according to thermal performance criteria. The design

This study provides evidence of the assumption that people are able to identify the political attitudes of male and female politicians based on their facial appearance with above-chance accuracy. Remarkably, observer sensitivity is higher for male targets, leading to the conclusion that female politicians are harder to categorize. Moreover, the tendency to categorize the target as being ideologically left is more liberal for women, which may be the result of a stereotype for female politicians. Providing information about the existence of this stereotype and underlying equal base rates does not influence these effects. It seems that automatic and rapid use of heuristics drawing conclusions about others leads to judgement error that cannot be overcome by rational information.


Keywords: political psychology, interpersonal accuracy, gender stereotype

This paper presents a practical Method for characterising, modelling and solving scheduling problems using a heuristic approach. The emphasis is on a heuristic methodology which has been adopted in developing the TRANSIM nurse allocation system. TRANSIM has been used in designing schedules in various schools of nursing in England and Australia. The methodology can be adopted for the purpose of automated scheduling in a variety of management and engineering applications.

This paper presents the SR-GCWS-CS probabilistic algorithm that combines Monte Carlo simulation with splitting techniques and the Clarke and Wright savings heuristic to find competitive quasi-optimal solutions to the Capacitated Vehicle Routing Problem (CVRP) in reasonable response times. The algorithm, which does not require complex fine-tuning processes, can be used as an alternative to other metaheuristics—such as Simulated Annealing, Tabu Search, Genetic Algorithms, Ant Colony Optimization or GRASP, which ...

Once natural dangers tied up human energies; now man-made problems – lifestyle diseases, pollution, racism, terrorism, etc. – take the lead and dictate agendas. Entrenchment in fundamental beliefs increases; economism rules, yet aggravates a conflictual development whose root is neither accidental nor 'the human condition', but in a widespread way of thinking, justified by the vast majority of contemporary theorizing: to approach problems dominatively, based on primal assumptions (not openness on principle to the entirety of the subject matter). This way of thinking is self-limited on principle: it can't reach the intrinsic nature of phenomena, it is not generally sound. Action on this basis produces conflicts that can't be resolved by reiterating the method, which is thus not fully sustainable. The mainstream can avoid plurality only by incurring losses, and it is led to believe totally secure thinking is impossible – calling for more formalism, engendering on the theoretical level a self-fulfilling prophecy, and on the practical level an immense inefficiency. Nevertheless secure thinking is viable on the level of pure content. An adequate foundation can be found in completely self-aware querying. Systematizing this path makes perspectivity and universality compatible and opens up categories that are universally applicable within their query perspective. The proposed methodology allows strict thinking from totality towards its aspects – for instance in theorizing seamlessly all human agency, including mental activity. The proposed framework is not just one more theory, but encompasses theory and practice, and fosters personal integrity – the root of all authentic conflict solving.