How Humans Solve Complex Problems: The Case of the Knapsack Problem.

ABSTRACT: Life presents us with problems of varying complexity. Yet, complexity is not accounted for in theories of human decision-making. Here we study instances of the knapsack problem, a discrete optimisation problem commonly encountered at all levels of cognition, from attention gating to intellectual discovery. Complexity of this problem is well understood from the perspective of a mechanical device like a computer. We show experimentally that human performance too decreased with complexity as defined in computer science. Defying traditional economic principles, participants spent effort way beyond the point where marginal gain was positive, and economic performance increased with instance difficulty. Human attempts at solving the instances exhibited commonalities with algorithms developed for

SUBMITTER: Murawski C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5054396 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature