DME

[From Rick Marken (921208.1000)]

R. K. Clark proposes an addition to the HPCT model -- a DECISION
MAKING ENTITY (DME). I don't know what data motivate the
addition of a DME but perhaps it has to do with Clark's claim that:

Making DECISIONS is an everyday occurrence for most of us. Most
are routine, ["Do you want cheese on your hamburger?" "What's
the best way to get to Chicago?" "Shall I cross the street
before, or after, that car goes by?"] but some involve complex
analysis ["How do I get funds for this project?" "Who will be
willing to act as Editor?"] and may reveal unexpected conflicts.
"Who," or "what," makes Decisions, and "where" they are made has
received little or no attention.

I prefer to look at decisions as the conscious result of conflict. So the
cause of decision making is already a part of the model. So is the means
of dealing with conflict -- reorganization; we flip a coin and do one
thing (produce one perception) and tolerate the error resulting from not
doing the other (producing the other perception). A better way to solve
such conflicts is to "go up a level", a phenomenon that should be studied
by clinicians since it is one of the great theraputic experiences (speaking
subjectively) one can have -- and a sure cure for the everyday conflicts
(decisions) that are the natural result of never achieving a perfectly
organized control hierarchy.

The study of decision making has been popular in conventional psychology
because it is an inherently statistical phenomenon. If you offer people
choices between almost equally attractive perceptions, coin-flipping
(statistics) is the only approach (if you don't go up a level and see the
choice itself as arbitrary; but if you did that you would be kicked out of
the experiment). There may be something interesting to be learned about
hierarchical control and reorganization through the study of decision
making (conflict). But I think we must first have a very good model of
the "elements" of decision making -- conflict, in particular -- before we
can make a coherent stab at decision making (which, as I said, is probably
reorganization -- of the conscious variety -- to settle, not necessarily
resolve, a conflict).

I think that I could get a better grasp of Clark's DME proposal if he
(or anyone) could propose some experimental tests that might reveal
the necessailty of the DME model and provide a testbed for evaluating
this addition to HPCT.

Regards

Rick