Processing of time constraints on sequence decisions in a planning task

Abstract This study investigated how people process time constraints on sequence decisions entailed by an everyday type of errand-planning task. In this task, subjects chose when and where to perform a number of errands in a fictitious environment. Four experiments were conducted in which time constraints were varied. Undergraduate students served as subjects. A main finding was that subjects who were not required to minimise time traded off travel distance (effort) against wait time. Since this trade-off was stronger at early stages in the sequence of errands, it may not simply reflect inconvenience of waiting but an attempt to increase the realism of the plan by reducing the likelihood of obstacles to performing the errands. In addition to providing insights into the role of time constraints, the research demonstrated that, within a decision-making theoretical framework, planning may be conceived of as choices between sequences of actions.

[1]  W. Edwards.  The theory of decision making. , 1954, Psychological bulletin.

[2]  G. Miller,et al.  Nondynamic aspects of personality. , 1960 .

[3]  G. Miller,et al.  Plans and the structure of behavior , 1960 .

[4]  R. Byrne.  Planning meals: Problem-solving on a real data-base , 1977, Cognition.

[5]  Earl David Sacerdoti,et al.  A Structure for Plans and Behavior , 1977 .

[6]  Barbara Hayes-Roth,et al.  A Cognitive Model of Planning , 1979, Cogn. Sci..

[7]  Barbara Hayes-Roth,et al.  Human Planning Processes , 1980 .

[8]  K. A. Ericsson,et al.  Protocol Analysis: Verbal Reports as Data , 1984 .

[9]  E. Lindberg,et al.  Cognitive Mapping of Large-Scale Environments , 1984 .

[10]  R. Abelson.  Decision making and decision theory , 1985 .

[11]  Tommy Gärling,et al.  The spatiotemporal sequencing of everyday activities in the large-scale environment , 1986 .

[12]  T. Garling,et al.  Sequential Spatial Choices in the Large-Scale Environment , 1987 .

[13]  Roger C. Schank,et al.  SCRIPTS, PLANS, GOALS, AND UNDERSTANDING , 1988 .

[14]  F. Sarocchi,et al.  Structure of action plans and the notion of temporal stop , 1989 .

[15]  Tommy Gärling,et al.  The role of cognitive maps in spatial decisions , 1989 .

[16]  Penelope M. Sanderson,et al.  The Human Planning and Scheduling Role in Advanced Manufacturing Systems: An Emerging Human Factors Domain , 1989 .

[17]  G. Cohen.  Memory In The Real World , 1989 .

[18]  Eric J. Johnson,et al.  Behavioral decision research: A constructive processing perspective. , 1992 .

[19]  Tommy Gärling,et al.  Heuristic rules for sequential spatial decisions , 1992 .

[20]  John W. Payne,et al.  The adaptive decision maker: Name index , 1993 .

[21]  Drazen Prelec,et al.  Preferences for sequences of outcomes. , 1993 .

[22]  Eric J. Johnson,et al.  The adaptive decision maker , 1993 .

[23]  James A. Hendler,et al.  Readings in Planning , 1994 .