Debriefing can reduce misperceptions of feedback: The case of renewable resource management

According to the hypothesis of misperception of feedback, people's poor performance in renewable resource management tasks can be attributed to their general tendency to systematically misperceive the dynamics of bioeconomic systems. The thesis of this article is that dynamic decision performance can be improved by helping individuals develop more accurate mental models of renewable resource systems through training using computer simulation-based interactive learning environments (CSBILEs) that include debriefing. A laboratory experiment is reported in which participants managed a dynamic task by playing the roles of fishing fleet managers. One group of participants used a CSBILE with debriefing, and another group used the same CSBILE but without debriefing. A comprehensive model consisting of four evaluation criteria was developed and used. The evaluation criteria were task performance, structural knowledge, heuristics, and decision time. It was found that debriefing was effective on all four criteria: Debriefing improved task performance, helped users learn more about the decision domain and develop heuristics, and reduced decision time in dynamic decision making.