Activity Cave Rescue

Cognitive Biases in the Decision-making Process

Thoughtful reflections about your group's decision-making approach:

NAME REASON

Yogesh Keeping in consideration his age factors, he has a very low chance of survival so he
needs to be rescued first.

Neha She is a mother of 4 small children , high dependency of the family

Venkat His contribution to the medical field is immense, and he needs to be saved to finish his
research design for low-cost surgical operations

Utpal Member of a political party directly affects the decision making, also has 11 children to
take care of

Sheila She is young, has a whole life ahead of her, and a girl

Rajesh Adventure group trainers can be saved last due to their ability to survive in harsh
conditions, also he will help people inside to survive

1. Which criteria did you prioritize when deciding the rescue order, and why?

Ans. The negatives about that person in their personal lives haven’t hampered our decision. We as a
group wanted to save everyone. We have considered all the positive factors while making a decision.
Some major criteria were :

• Immediate Danger: Volunteers who are in imminent danger due to health conditions or
environmental factors should be prioritized. In this scenario, Yogesh was a senior citizen who
should be rescued first.

• Dependents: Volunteers with dependents who rely on them, such as children or a large
family, maybe prioritized to ensure that they can return to their responsibilities and support
their dependents.

• Medical Expertise: Volunteers with medical expertise, such as Venkat, who is a renowned
cardiac surgeon, may be crucial for providing medical assistance to other volunteers once
rescued.

• Social Importance: While not necessarily a primary factor, the social importance or impact
of a volunteer's work or connections may influence the decision-making process. For
example, Utpal's involvement in social and political movements may have broader
implications beyond the immediate rescue situation.

• Emotional Stability: Considering the stressful and potentially traumatic nature of the
situation, volunteers who demonstrate emotional stability and resilience may be better
equipped to cope with the ordeal of being trapped and [Link] Fitness and Survival
Skills: Volunteers who possess physical fitness and survival skills, such as Rajesh,
2. Did any personal or professional information about the characters influence your decisions
more than others? If so, why do you think that was?

Ans. Yes, professional and personal information did influence our decisions as –

Professional factors -
• Venkat - Due to his profession and his contributions to the medical field.
• Utpal- He is a member of the communist party and plays an important role in decision-
making, hence crucial for his party.
• Rajesh - Rajesh was an adventure group trainer so this influenced our decision to save him
last as he can withstand, and survive.

Personal factors -
Personal factors such as the dependency of Neha’s children on her. Yogesh was saved first due to his
age and low chance of survival. The negative personal factors didn't affect our decision-making, we
wanted to be fair and not let personal biases be a deciding factor. Neha could have a relationship but
that doesn't weigh down her importance for her children.

3. Reflect on how your group reached its decision. Were there any assumptions made about the
characters, that were not based on the information provided?

Ans. All the decisions were made from the given information,
We assumed that some of the volunteers were more likely to survive than others, based on their age,
health, or other factors which included the ability to survive in harsh conditions.
Some of the volunteers' lives were more valuable than others, based on their contributions to society
or their potential for future contributions.

4. Reflecting on your decision-making process, how might biases related to the characters,
personal or professional backgrounds have influenced the priority given to them for rescue?
(refer to document cognitive biases).

Ans. The decision-making process in this situation may be influenced by various biases based on the
characters' personal or professional histories.
Here are a few potential examples:
1. Age bias
2. Profession bias
3. Children bias
4. Special achievements bias
5. Halo effect bias - We had a bias about Rajesh and his abilities to survive as he has already
done many trainings, but this could or could not be true in this situation

5. In retrospect, do you believe that the decision-making process was fair and objective? Why or
why not?

Ans. The fairness and objectivity of the decision-making process is controversial, and it depends on
the criteria used to evaluate it. The following are some arguments for and against its fairness and
objective.

Arguments for Fairness and Objectivity:

1. Established criteria: The committee ranked the volunteers based on established factors such
as age, family obligations, and prospective contributions to society. This method minimizes
personal biases and improves uniformity.
 2. Transparency: The process used publicly available information from volunteer profiles and
did not rely on hidden elements.
3. Efficiency: Making a speedy judgment was critical owing to the impending threat, and
ranking based on predetermined criteria may appear efficient in such a pressure cooker
circumstance.

Arguments Against Fairness and Objectivity:

1. Limited information: The selection was made exclusively on the basis of volunteer profiles,
with no consideration given to prospective situational factors such as health, leadership
abilities, or willingness to sacrifice.
2. Questionable Criteria: The selected parameters, such as age and profession, present ethical
difficulties. Is the value of a life defined by age or prospective economic contributions?

6. If you were to conduct this exercise again but with a different group of people, do you think
the outcome would be different? Why or why not?

Ans. The outcome would be definitely different as the criteria of selection will change, also we have
not personal biases come our way, but for some personal biases do play an important role while
making a decision
Many different biases could also lead to another decision-making process. The objectives of other
groups could be different than others.

7. Share an example of a company that made crucial decisions during uncertain times and the
biases that came in the way leading to failure in wrong or bad decision making.

Ans. Nokia maintained its focus on its dominant Symbian operating system while competitors like
Apple and Google developed innovative smartphone platforms like iOS and Android.
Biases:
1. Overconfidence bias: Nokia may have overestimated their market position and
underestimated the pace of technological change.
2. Anchoring bias: They might have clung too tightly to the established Symbian system, thus
not exploring alternate options.