GEOSCIENCE INFORMATION AND DECISION MAKING: LESSONS FROM A NATURAL HAZARD INTERACTIVE LABORATORY

As part of a project to develop and evaluate a computer-based simulation of a volcanic hazard designed to enhance student decision making skills, we investigated the extent to which decision making regarding geoscientific hazards is affected by (1) geoscientific data format, or “framing”, (2) the availability of additional supporting or contradictory geoscientific data, and (3) the availability of information irrelevant to the decision. By better understanding the impact of information framing and applicability on geoscience decision making, we can apply this understanding to best design principles for our simulation, thereby providing the most effective enhancement for decision making skill. Our studies have found that students' decisions are highly sensitive to the framing of data (e.g., presenting results in terms of positive or negative outcomes). In every assessment we found that students consistently changed their risk assessments depending on how the same data were framed. We also found students' decisions to be insensitive to additional data regardless of whether this additional information supported or contradicted the original data. That is, students appear to disregard additional information when making risk assessments. Finally, we have found that students' decisions show a high degree of sensitivity to non-relevant information, such as whether the decision involved someone they know. These results demonstrate that how information is presented, both framing and ordering, and the availability of personal, but irrelevant information, impacts how information is used in decision making.