JTEL Summer School Workshop Psycho-pedagogical theories have a usually underestimated high impact on adaptive education. In the ROLE project, a primary goal is to identify functional and non-functional requirements specifications, with the aim to integrate them into a psycho-pedagogically sound framework as a basis for the development of a highly responsive open learning platform. The results of behavioural and cognitive psychology show that humans make mistakes predictably and this knowledge can be harnessed to support them. Various biases emerge from the interplay between the automatic and reflective system driving our thinking processes. Apparently there are opportunities for choice architecture to influence options in a way that will support choosers to act in their own interest. The main challenge here is to offer nudges that will most likely help and least likely inflict harm, preserving freedom of choice. In this workshop we demonstrate some of human cognitive biases and ask participants to elaborate in collaborative and interactive way on possible consequences for requirements specification of adaptive and recommender learning systems. Our aim is to raise awareness of some outcomes from behavioral and cognitive psychology that can be relevant for the design of future responsive learning solutions.

1. How can Behavioral
M. Kravcik
and Cognitive Psychology inform
R. Klamma
Z. Petrushyna Design of Learning Experiences?
Workshop
JTEL
Summer School
June 2010 Ohrid, June 2010
Slide 1
Milos Kravcik, Ralf Klamma, Zinayida Petrushyna
Chair for Information Systems and Databases,
RWTH Aachen University, Germany
Lehrstuhl Informatik 5
(Information Systems)
Prof. Dr. M. Jarke

2. Overview
Introduction (30 min)
M. Kravcik
R. Klamma
Collaboration:
Z. Petrushyna
• discussion in groups of 4 (15 min)
JTEL
Summer School
• presentation of outcomes (15 min)
June 2010
Slide 2 • clustering of outcomes (15 min)
Summary:
• discussion & feedback (15 min)
Lehrstuhl Informatik 5
(Information Systems)
Prof. Dr. M. Jarke

3. Agenda
M. Kravcik
R. Klamma
Z. Petrushyna
Heuristics &
Architecture
Motivation
Proposed
Solution
JTEL
Results
Choice
Survey
Summer School
June 2010 Biases
Slide 3
Lehrstuhl Informatik 5
(Information Systems)
Prof. Dr. M. Jarke

4. Motivation
Illusions:
• Optical
M. Kravcik
R. Klamma
Z. Petrushyna
• Cognitive
Rashomon (Akira Kurosawa, 1950)
JTEL
Summer School
June 2010
Slide 4
The story of human communication
Awareness Test
Count how many times the white team passes the ball
Right Brain vs Left Brain Test
Do you see the dancer turning clockwise or anti-
clockwise?
Lehrstuhl Informatik 5
(Information Systems)
Prof. Dr. M. Jarke

5. Human Mind
S. Pinker: Our mind is made for fitness, not for truth
Meaning depends on (D. Gilbert):
M. Kravcik
R. Klamma
• context
Z. Petrushyna
• frequency
JTEL
• recency
Summer School
June 2010
Slide 5
• preferences
R. Thaler: Humans predictably err
• this knowledge can be harnessed to help them
Lehrstuhl Informatik 5
(Information Systems)
Prof. Dr. M. Jarke

6. 2 Kinds of Thinking
Automatic system (AS): Reflective system (RS)
– gut reaction: – conscious thought:
• intuitive, rapid, instinctive • rational, deliberate,
• associated with the oldest self-conscious
M. Kravcik
R. Klamma
parts of the brain
Z. Petrushyna
JTEL
Summer School
June 2010
Slide 6
Lehrstuhl Informatik 5
(Information Systems)
Prof. Dr. M. Jarke

7. Heuristics & Biases
emerge from the interplay between AS & RS
• people prefer information that confirms their
Confirmation bias preconceptions or hypotheses
• people see events that have occurred, as more predictable
Hindsight bias than they in fact were before they took place
M. Kravcik
R. Klamma
• people are over-optimistic about the outcome of
Optimism bias
Z. Petrushyna
planned actions
JTEL • people overestimate the length or the intensity of
Summer School Impact bias future feeling states
June 2010
Slide 7
• as people usually see just the winners, not the losers, they
Observation bias may misattribute the causes that led to the winning
Planning fallacy • people underestimate task-completion times
• creating a story post-hoc so that an event will seem
Narrative fallacy to have an identifiable cause
• believing that the unstructured randomness found in life
Lehrstuhl Informatik 5 Ludic fallacy resembles the structured randomness found in games
(Information Systems)
Prof. Dr. M. Jarke

8. Survey on Present Learning
10 questions on 3 issues:
M. Kravcik
R. Klamma
Z. Petrushyna
• Freedom of learner
• Pedagogical support
JTEL • Importance of content & form
Summer School
June 2010
Slide 8
• Necessity of tutors (teachers)
31 participants, mostly students of the Summer School
Lehrstuhl Informatik 5
(Information Systems)
Prof. Dr. M. Jarke

9. Freedom of Learner
The more freedom for the Too much freedom for
learner the better the learner may be
M. Kravcik overwhelming and
R. Klamma
Z. Petrushyna contra productive
JTEL
Summer School
June 2010
Slide 9
Lehrstuhl Informatik 5
(Information Systems)
Prof. Dr. M. Jarke

10. Pedagogical Support
Each learner should Not everybody can be an
have some pedagogical expert in education
knowledge to be able to (teacher), therefore
M. Kravcik
R. Klamma
learn without an external pedagogical assistance
Z. Petrushyna
help for the learner is
required
JTEL
Summer School
June 2010
Slide 10
Lehrstuhl Informatik 5
(Information Systems)
Prof. Dr. M. Jarke

11. Importance of Content & Form
In learning the The form of the Both content and
content is crucial learning form (org.) of the
and the form experience is learning
M. Kravcik
R. Klamma
(presentation, most important experience are
Z. Petrushyna organization) of and the content equally important
the learning is secondary for successful
JTEL experience is learning
Summer School
June 2010 secondary
Slide 11
Lehrstuhl Informatik 5
(Information Systems)
Prof. Dr. M. Jarke

12. Necessity of Tutor
The tutor It is always good Tutors (teachers)
(teacher) is not when the learner may be
necessary in the has a competent successfully
M. Kravcik
R. Klamma
present learning tutor (teacher) replaced by
Z. Petrushyna
peer-learners
JTEL
Summer School
June 2010
Slide 12
Lehrstuhl Informatik 5
(Information Systems)
Prof. Dr. M. Jarke

13. Categories of Biases (1)
3 basic categories of biases (Thaler & Sunstein)
Bounded rationality: our rationality is delimited
• unrealistic optimism is
M. Kravcik
R. Klamma
a pervasive feature of human life
Z. Petrushyna
JTEL
Summer School • humans fear loss more than
they love gain
June 2010
Slide 13
• people have a tendency
to stick with their current situation
• choices depend on the way
in which problems are stated
Lehrstuhl Informatik 5
(Information Systems)
Prof. Dr. M. Jarke

14. Categories of Biases (2)
Self-control: our rationality and temptation may be in conflict
an individual is containing two
M. Kravcik
R. Klamma
semiautonomous selves, which
Z. Petrushyna means there is a two-system
conception of self-control:
JTEL
Summer School
June 2010
Slide 14
• planner (RS)
• doer (AS)
Lehrstuhl Informatik 5
(Information Systems)
Prof. Dr. M. Jarke

15. Categories of Biases (3)
Social influences: we are influenced by the behavior of other people
• information – on actions and thoughts of others (we tend to conform)
M. Kravcik
R. Klamma
Z. Petrushyna • peer pressure –
considering what other
JTEL
Summer School
people think to avoid
June 2010
Slide 15
their disapproval
• priming – subtle
influences can
increase the ease
with which certain info
comes to mind
(channel factors)
Lehrstuhl Informatik 5
(Information Systems)
Prof. Dr. M. Jarke

16. Uneasy Choices
(Thaler & Sunstein)
• self-control issues arise when choices and
Delayed effects their consequences are separated in time
• many problems in life are difficult and there
M. Kravcik
Difficulty
R. Klamma
is no technology to help
Z. Petrushyna
JTEL
• some decisions are rare, therefore there is
Infrequency
Summer School
June 2010
Slide 16
a lack of practice
• learning requires immediate and clear
Poor feedback feedback after each try
• ambiguous relation between a choice and
Unclear impact its consequence
Lehrstuhl Informatik 5
(Information Systems)
Prof. Dr. M. Jarke

17. Choice Architecture
(Thaler & Sunstein)
• they are very powerful, as usually a lot of people end up
Default options with it
M. Kravcik
R. Klamma
Expect error • a well designed system is as forgiving as possible
Z. Petrushyna
• it is the best way how to improve the performance of
JTEL Give feedback humans
Summer School
June 2010
Slide 17
Understand mappings • options should be comprehensible
from choice to welfare
Structure complex • Elimination by aspects: eliminate the unsuitable alternatives
choices • Collaborative filtering: use the judgements of similar people
• put the right incentives on the right people – Who uses?
Incentives Who chooses? Who pays? Who profits?
Lehrstuhl Informatik 5
(Information Systems)
Prof. Dr. M. Jarke

18. Proposed Solution
AS always wins over RS – do not confuse our AS
(Thaler & Sunstein)
Libertarian paternalism:
M. Kravcik
R. Klamma
Z. Petrushyna
preserves liberty and tries to influence choices in a way
that will make choosers better off, as judged by
JTEL
themselves
Summer School
June 2010
Slide 18 • This influence can be realized via suitable
alerts or nudges
• A nudge should alert people’s behavior
in a predictable way and at the same time it
should be easy and cheap to avoid
The golden rule of libertarian paternalism:
Lehrstuhl Informatik 5
offer nudges that are most likely to help and least likely
(Information Systems)
Prof. Dr. M. Jarke to inflict harm

19. ROLE Approach to the Design
of Learning Experiences
Control & Responsibility
guidance & Recommendation
freedom of
learner
M. Kravcik
R. Klamma
Z. Petrushyna
JTEL
personalization motivation of
Summer School & adaptability to learner (intrinsic,
June 2010 learner & context What is the impact of extrinsic)
Slide 19
these findings from
behavioral & cognitive
psychology on design
of learning?
collaboration &
stimulation of Goal setting
good practice
learner’s meta- Planning
sharing among
cognition Reflection
Lehrstuhl Informatik 5 peers
(Information Systems)
Prof. Dr. M. Jarke

20. Overview
Introduction (30 min)
M. Kravcik
R. Klamma
Collaboration:
Z. Petrushyna
• discussion in groups of 4 (15 min)
JTEL
Summer School
• presentation of outcomes (15 min)
June 2010
Slide 20 • clustering of outcomes (15 min)
Summary:
• discussion & feedback (15 min)
Lehrstuhl Informatik 5
(Information Systems)
Prof. Dr. M. Jarke