How do we cope with the perplexing array of decisions we face each day? Some decisions are trivial (what to have for lunch); some monumental (whom should I marry?). One perspective, that we are exploring, is to suggest that decision makers use a single general-purpose “tool” which accumulates evidence up to a threshold (an “adjustable spanner (or wrench) model”). Different decisions will require different amounts of evidence (choosing a mate typically requires the accumulation of more information than deciding what to have for lunch!) but the mental machinery underlying the decision process is the same.

This single-model perspective offers an alternative to the popular, but less parsimonious, metaphor of the mind as a ‘toolbox’ containing a collection of specialised cognitive mechanisms that can be used for specific domains.

The challenge for a “spanner” model is to specify how the evidence threshold is determined by factors such as the availability and cost of information and the time and opportunities to learn about a decision problem. Experimental and cognitive modelling approaches are currently being taken to solve these issues. Together these approaches will bring us closer to achieving our goal of understanding the psychology of how – and how well – we make decisions.

Research Contact

Dr Ben Newell

Personal Webpage:

http://www2.psy.unsw.edu.au/Users/BNewell

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