Chapter 12 Reflection

Chapter 12:
Deductive Reasoning and
Decision Making

1. How does this topic fit into what I have learned already in this course?

Chapter 12 on Deductive Reasoning and Decision Making relates to other areas in the cognitive text that we have already covered. In general, when we make decisions, we are prompted by our previous knowledge and experiences that we access from our Long Term and Working Memory. The confirmation bias in Chapter 12 emphasizes the importance of our past experiences on our present decision making.

In the previous chapter, we were also introduced to heuristic strategies when problem solving. Chapter 12 continued by explaining 3 more heuristics for decision making. (Representative, Availability, and Anchoring & Adjustment Heuristics.) Each of these decision making processes emphasize Top-Down Processing, which has been discussed throughout our textbook so far. Theme 3 of this book is also emphasized which states that we process positive information better than negative information when the fact that the wording of a question can impact our decision making.

2. What am I still not clear on in this week's reading(s)?

I found the idea of the Propositional Calculus to be a bit difficult. I understand the concept of a statement consisting of an antecedent and a consequent. It can get confusing when deciding whether to affirm the consequent or the antecedent or deny the antecedent or the consequent.
I also was confused by the idea of estimating confidence intervals under the anchoring and adjustment heuristic. The confidence interval discusses ranges within which we expect a number to fall a certain percentage of the time. I’m not sure when I would have to use this type of estimation, but if I ever did I’m not sure how accurate I would be!


3. Under what conditions would I apply this material to my own teaching/work?

Helping students to become better problem solvers and decision makers is our job as educators. We can apply the strategies discussed in Chapter 12 with all of our students by teaching them how to utilize the different heuristics when solving problems in any subject area and making decisions in their lives. Understanding what processes our students utilize can be helpful in identifying areas in which our students can struggle. They may only utilize one way to think about things, we can assist them by introducing them to a different heuristic that may work better in a different situation. They should learn that there is not always one way to find an answer. They should also be aware of stereotypes that exist from their prior experiences that may influence decisions that they make. By assisting them in these areas, we are helping them to become critical thinkers, which will be an advantage for them throughout their lifetime.

We can also learn from the concepts in this chapter about our own decision making. We can remind ourselves to be aware of the way we word questions to our students and how it can play an important role in the responses we receive. As we understand the concepts that both promote and discourage good decision making, we become more critical thinkers and in turn can instruct our students in their critical thinking and decision making.