A game-based intervention for the reduction of statistical cognitive biases
Name
893607430-MIT.pdf
Description
Full printable version
Size
9.81 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
49b0e5c55e8708c0f4490bbc673b47bb
Author(s)
Xia, Cassandra
Advisor(s)
Pattie Maes.
Alternative Title
Probability playground : a set of games for statical intuition
Date Issued
2014
Publisher
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Abstract
Probability and statistics is perhaps the area of mathematics education most directly applicable to everyday life. Yet, the methodologies traditionally used to cover these topics in school render the material formal and difficult to apply. In this thesis, I describe a game design that develops probabilistic concepts in real-life situations. Psychologists have coined the term cognitive bias for instances in which the intuition of the average person disagrees with the formal mathematical analysis of the problem. This thesis examines if a one-hour game-based intervention can enact a change in the intuitive mental models people have for reasoning about probability and uncertainty in real-life. Two cognitive biases were selected for treatment: overconfidence effect and base rate neglect. These two biases represent instances of miscalibrated subjective probabilities and Bayesian inference, respectively. Results of user tests suggest that it is possible to alter probabilistic intuitions, but that attention to the transitions from the current mental constructs must be carefully designed. Prototyping results suggest how some elements of game design may naturally lend themselves to deep learning objectives and heuristics.
Description
Thesis: S.M., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Architecture and Planning, Program in Media Arts and Sciences, 2014.
50
Title as it appears in MIT commencement exercises program, June 6, 2014: Probability playground: a set of games for statical intuition Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 48-50).
Subjects
Architecture. Program in Media Arts and Sciences.
MIT Department
Program in Media Arts and Sciences (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
Terms of Use
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