BOUNDED AND ADAPTIVE RATIONALITY, DECISION PROCESSES AND PROBLEM SOLVING IN H. A. SIMON
Keywords:
Bounded rationality. Adaptive rationality. Decision processes. Problem-solving approach. Heuristic strategies.Abstract
The purpose of this paper, which belongs to a series of papers we developed relative to Simon’s theories of rationality, decision, company and organization, is to rationally reconstruct his seminal work on adaptive rationality and decision. The field of study of rationality and decision theories can be divided into two research programs: (i) the normative program, which interprets rationality as a set of axioms that supplies a logical structure for preferences and an optimization principle for the selection of alternatives; (ii) the descriptive program, according to which rationality is empirically reconstructed by means of the assumption that the decision-making individual incorporates a portfolio of adaptive heuristic strategies which operate satisfactorily, but not optimally, in the delineation of the opportunity set and in the selection of alternatives. In this paper we defend the thesis that Simon aims to confer greater empirical content to rationality, reinterpreting it as bounded and adaptive without, however, giving up rationality as a regulating idea.References
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NEWELL, A. and SIMON, H.A. Human Problem Solving. Englewood Cliffs: NJ., Prentice Hall, 1972.
PAYNE, J.W., BETTMAN, J.R., and JOHNSON, E.J. The adaptive decision-maker. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993.
POZO, J.I. Teorias Cognitivas da Aprendizagem. Porto Alegre: Artes Médicas, 1998.
QUIGGINS, J. Generalized Expected Utility Theory. Boston: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1993.
SIMON, H.A. Administrative Behavior. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1965.
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____________. From substantive to procedural rationality. In: S.J. Latsis. Method and Appraisal in Economics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 129-148, 1976.
____________. Models of Thought. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1979.
____________. “Cognitive Science: The Newest Science of the Artificial”. In.: D. Norman (org.). Perspectives on cognitive science. New Jersey: ABLEX Publishing Corporation, Norwood, 1982.
____________. Reason in Human Affair. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1983.
____________. “Rationality as Process and as Product of Thought”. In: D.E. Bell, H. Raiffa, A. Tversky (eds.). Decision-Making: descriptive, normative, and prescriptive interactions. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 58-77, 1988.
____________. “Invariants of Human Behavior”. Annual Review Psychology, vol. 41, p. 1-19, 1990.
____________. An Empirically Based Microeconomics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997.
SIMON, H.A. and HAYES, J.R. The Understanding Process: Problem Isomorphs. Cognitive Psychology, vol. 8, p. 165-190, 1976.
SKINNER, B. F. Ciência e Comportamento Humano. São Paulo: Martins Fontes, 1989.
STERNBERG, R.J. Psicologia Cognitiva. Porto Alegre: Artes Médicas, 2000.
THAGARD, P. Mente: Introdução à Ciência Cognitiva. Porto Alegre: Artes Médicas, 1998.
CHIAPPIN, J.R.N. “Racionalidade, Decisão, Solução de Problemas e o Programa Racionalista”. Ciência e Filosofia, nº 5, p. 155-219, 1996.
BORDLEY, R.F. “Systems simulation comparing different decision rules”. Behavioral Science, vol. 30, no. 4, p. 230-239, 1985.
HAMMOND, K.R. “Coherence and Correspondence Theories in Judgment and Decision-Making”. In: T. Connolly, H.R. Arkes and K.R. Hammond (ed.). Judgment and Decision-Making: an interdisciplinary reader. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 53-65, 2000.
HAUGELAND, J. Artificial Intelligence: The Very Idea. Cambridge: MIT, 1987.
KAHNEMAN, D. and TVERSKY, A. “Prospect Theory: an analysis of decision under risk”. Econometrica, vol. 47, p. 263-291, 1979.
LAKATOS, I. “O Falseamento e a Metodologia dos Programas de Pesquisa Científica”. In: I. Lakatos and A. Musgrave (orgs.). A Crítica e o Desenvolvimento do Conhecimento. São Paulo: Cultrix/EDUSP, p. 109-243, 1979.
LEISTER, C. Programa de Pesquisa da Racionalidade e Teoria da Decisão: Racionalidade e Teoria da Decisão Adaptativa. Dissertação de Mestrado. FFLCH-USP, 2001.
NEWELL, A. and SIMON, H.A. Human Problem Solving. Englewood Cliffs: NJ., Prentice Hall, 1972.
PAYNE, J.W., BETTMAN, J.R., and JOHNSON, E.J. The adaptive decision-maker. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993.
POZO, J.I. Teorias Cognitivas da Aprendizagem. Porto Alegre: Artes Médicas, 1998.
QUIGGINS, J. Generalized Expected Utility Theory. Boston: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1993.
SIMON, H.A. Administrative Behavior. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1965.
____________. The Sciences of the Artificial. MA: MIT Press, 1969.
____________. From substantive to procedural rationality. In: S.J. Latsis. Method and Appraisal in Economics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 129-148, 1976.
____________. Models of Thought. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1979.
____________. “Cognitive Science: The Newest Science of the Artificial”. In.: D. Norman (org.). Perspectives on cognitive science. New Jersey: ABLEX Publishing Corporation, Norwood, 1982.
____________. Reason in Human Affair. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1983.
____________. “Rationality as Process and as Product of Thought”. In: D.E. Bell, H. Raiffa, A. Tversky (eds.). Decision-Making: descriptive, normative, and prescriptive interactions. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 58-77, 1988.
____________. “Invariants of Human Behavior”. Annual Review Psychology, vol. 41, p. 1-19, 1990.
____________. An Empirically Based Microeconomics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997.
SIMON, H.A. and HAYES, J.R. The Understanding Process: Problem Isomorphs. Cognitive Psychology, vol. 8, p. 165-190, 1976.
SKINNER, B. F. Ciência e Comportamento Humano. São Paulo: Martins Fontes, 1989.
STERNBERG, R.J. Psicologia Cognitiva. Porto Alegre: Artes Médicas, 2000.
THAGARD, P. Mente: Introdução à Ciência Cognitiva. Porto Alegre: Artes Médicas, 1998.
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2010-05-12
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