Using Game-based Learning in Order to Enhance Decision Making Under Uncertainty

Abstract

How do people make their decisions? Searching for the answer in the relevant literature, we can find that decisions are based either on rationality or intuition. Rational thinking is mainly observed in situations characterized by certainty (in terms of data or the consequences of decisions), while heuristic intuitive methods are mainly observed in situations of uncertainty. Training for the enhancement of decision making skills usually employs problem-based activities which mainly focus either only on rationality or only on intuition. However, problems in real life cannot always be solved with the contribution of only one way of thinking. In a decision making process often rationality works up to an extent and then intuition will lead to the final decision. For this reason, we designed and developed a game-based learning activity that enhances both rational and intuitive decision making skills. More specifically, we created a decision scenario in a virtual environment in which participants were provided with uncertainty-based information in their decision making process. As they tried to follow a rational decision making process, most of them realized that based on the given information they were confused and they had to decide intuitively at the end. This experiential learning activity was a tickler for the participants to decide under uncertainty and trust their intuition.