James Shanteau | Kansas State University (original) (raw)

Papers by James Shanteau

CWS Excel Macro for Nominal Data

CWS Excel Macro Calculator Ver 1.0.4

The previous literature on experts presents two contrasting views. Judgment and decision research... more The previous literature on experts presents two contrasting views. Judgment and decision research has shown that experts make flawed decisions due, in part, to the biasing effects of judgmental heuristics. Cognitive science research, in contrast, views experts as competent and different from novices in nearly every aspect of cognitive functioning. An alternative view developed here, the Theory of Expert Competence, suggests that both analyses are correct, but incomplete. In particular, the theory assumes competence depends on five components: (1) a sufficient knowledge of the domain, (2) the psychological traits associated with experts, (3) the cognitive skills necessary to make tough decisions, (4) the ability to use appropriate decision strategies, and (5) a task with suitable characteristics. The latter is the focus of this paper.
Insufficient attention has been paid to task and domain characteristics in prior research. Decision researchers have looked primarily at experts in behavioral domains (e.g., clinical psychology), whereas cognitive investigators have concentrated on experts in static domains (e.g., physics). Thus, the discrepancy in the conclusions drawn from the two literatures appears to be a function of the different domains studied. Although similar to approaches such as Cognitive Continuum Theory, the proposed theory contains several new components. In addition, the theory has implications both for the analysis of experts and for the design and use of expert systems.

Suvremena Psihologija / Contemporary Psychology

In his often-cited 1996 address "The Challenge of Central Banking in a Democratic Society,&q... more In his often-cited 1996 address "The Challenge of Central Banking in a Democratic Society," Federal Reserve Board Chair Alan Greenspan asked, "How do we know when irrational exuberance has unduly escalated asset values?" A psychologist might ask, "How do we know what is rational or what is irrational?" Award-winning author Robyn M. Dawes offers a rational perspective on these questions in his latest book "Everyday Irrationality."

The Psychology of Juror Decision Making, 1993

Abstract The study applied the Cochran-Weiss-Shanteau (CWS) index, a behavioral-based measure of ... more Abstract The study applied the Cochran-Weiss-Shanteau (CWS) index, a behavioral-based measure of expertise that integrates discrimination and consistency. Larger CWS scores are indicative of better evaluation, ie, greater discrimination and consistency. CWS was used ...

Encyclopedia of Medical Decision Making, 2009

Organ donation and transplantation: Psychological and behavioral factors., 2000

ABSTRACT This study represents a summary of work in progress on the role of irrelevant informatio... more ABSTRACT This study represents a summary of work in progress on the role of irrelevant information in personnel selection. The research was designed to advance previous work on training agricultural experts to avoid irrelevant information. This was accomplished in two ways. First, Nagy's (1981) results showing that subjects used irrelevant job applicant information in making hiring recommendations was replicated. It was found that in addition to relevant information, irrelevant information of age, sex, and physical attractiveness were used as a part of hiring judgments. Second, two training programs (one lecture based, one interactively based) designed to reduce the use of irrelevant information were evaluated. These training programs were adapted from ones successfully used in an earlier study involving soil judges (Shanteau & Gaeth, 1981). The two training programs were tested separately using a pre-test, training, post-test design. The results, although only tenative, show that both the lecture training and the interactive training reduced the influence of the irrelevant information. These results suggest that the training techniques developed previously for agricultural judgment can be successfully extended to improve personnel selection judgments. (Author)

Identification of expertise is vital to any application involving expert human performance. If a ... more Identification of expertise is vital to any application involving expert human performance. If a gold standard exists, then identification is directsimply compare individuals against the standard and select whoever is closest. However, such standards are unavailable in many domains where experts work. The purpose of this paper is to present an alternate method for identifying experts in the absence of a gold standard. The method, called CWS for Cochran-Weiss-Shanteau, is illustrated with applications to four domains. In each case, CWS provided new insights into identification of expertise.

The study applied the Cochran-Weiss-Shanteau (CWS) index, a behavioral-based measure of expertise... more The study applied the Cochran-Weiss-Shanteau (CWS) index, a behavioral-based measure of expertise that integrates discrimination and consistency. Larger CWS scores are indicative of better evaluation, i.e., greater discrimination and consistency. CWS was used to assess the performance of controllers operating in high-fidelity simulations of air traffic control (ATC). Large CWS scores were associated with superior performance, e.g., fewer separation errors. The CWS indices were also sensitive to changes in task complexity and controller efficiency, further validating the index. This research extended CWS to real controllers operating in high-fidelity simulations of ATC.

Applied Cognitive Psychology, 2014

Encyclopedia of Medical Decision Making, 2009

CWS Excel Macro for Nominal Data

CWS Excel Macro Calculator Ver 1.0.4

The previous literature on experts presents two contrasting views. Judgment and decision research... more The previous literature on experts presents two contrasting views. Judgment and decision research has shown that experts make flawed decisions due, in part, to the biasing effects of judgmental heuristics. Cognitive science research, in contrast, views experts as competent and different from novices in nearly every aspect of cognitive functioning. An alternative view developed here, the Theory of Expert Competence, suggests that both analyses are correct, but incomplete. In particular, the theory assumes competence depends on five components: (1) a sufficient knowledge of the domain, (2) the psychological traits associated with experts, (3) the cognitive skills necessary to make tough decisions, (4) the ability to use appropriate decision strategies, and (5) a task with suitable characteristics. The latter is the focus of this paper.
Insufficient attention has been paid to task and domain characteristics in prior research. Decision researchers have looked primarily at experts in behavioral domains (e.g., clinical psychology), whereas cognitive investigators have concentrated on experts in static domains (e.g., physics). Thus, the discrepancy in the conclusions drawn from the two literatures appears to be a function of the different domains studied. Although similar to approaches such as Cognitive Continuum Theory, the proposed theory contains several new components. In addition, the theory has implications both for the analysis of experts and for the design and use of expert systems.

Suvremena Psihologija / Contemporary Psychology

In his often-cited 1996 address "The Challenge of Central Banking in a Democratic Society,&q... more In his often-cited 1996 address "The Challenge of Central Banking in a Democratic Society," Federal Reserve Board Chair Alan Greenspan asked, "How do we know when irrational exuberance has unduly escalated asset values?" A psychologist might ask, "How do we know what is rational or what is irrational?" Award-winning author Robyn M. Dawes offers a rational perspective on these questions in his latest book "Everyday Irrationality."

The Psychology of Juror Decision Making, 1993

Abstract The study applied the Cochran-Weiss-Shanteau (CWS) index, a behavioral-based measure of ... more Abstract The study applied the Cochran-Weiss-Shanteau (CWS) index, a behavioral-based measure of expertise that integrates discrimination and consistency. Larger CWS scores are indicative of better evaluation, ie, greater discrimination and consistency. CWS was used ...

Encyclopedia of Medical Decision Making, 2009

Organ donation and transplantation: Psychological and behavioral factors., 2000

ABSTRACT This study represents a summary of work in progress on the role of irrelevant informatio... more ABSTRACT This study represents a summary of work in progress on the role of irrelevant information in personnel selection. The research was designed to advance previous work on training agricultural experts to avoid irrelevant information. This was accomplished in two ways. First, Nagy's (1981) results showing that subjects used irrelevant job applicant information in making hiring recommendations was replicated. It was found that in addition to relevant information, irrelevant information of age, sex, and physical attractiveness were used as a part of hiring judgments. Second, two training programs (one lecture based, one interactively based) designed to reduce the use of irrelevant information were evaluated. These training programs were adapted from ones successfully used in an earlier study involving soil judges (Shanteau & Gaeth, 1981). The two training programs were tested separately using a pre-test, training, post-test design. The results, although only tenative, show that both the lecture training and the interactive training reduced the influence of the irrelevant information. These results suggest that the training techniques developed previously for agricultural judgment can be successfully extended to improve personnel selection judgments. (Author)

Identification of expertise is vital to any application involving expert human performance. If a ... more Identification of expertise is vital to any application involving expert human performance. If a gold standard exists, then identification is directsimply compare individuals against the standard and select whoever is closest. However, such standards are unavailable in many domains where experts work. The purpose of this paper is to present an alternate method for identifying experts in the absence of a gold standard. The method, called CWS for Cochran-Weiss-Shanteau, is illustrated with applications to four domains. In each case, CWS provided new insights into identification of expertise.

The study applied the Cochran-Weiss-Shanteau (CWS) index, a behavioral-based measure of expertise... more The study applied the Cochran-Weiss-Shanteau (CWS) index, a behavioral-based measure of expertise that integrates discrimination and consistency. Larger CWS scores are indicative of better evaluation, i.e., greater discrimination and consistency. CWS was used to assess the performance of controllers operating in high-fidelity simulations of air traffic control (ATC). Large CWS scores were associated with superior performance, e.g., fewer separation errors. The CWS indices were also sensitive to changes in task complexity and controller efficiency, further validating the index. This research extended CWS to real controllers operating in high-fidelity simulations of ATC.

Applied Cognitive Psychology, 2014

Encyclopedia of Medical Decision Making, 2009