Theatre Design & Technology - Fall 2017 - 35

WORKS CITED

Ariely, D. 2008. Predictably Irrational. New York: Harper.

* Hindsight Bias is when we look back and say that "we
knew it all along" or believe that what just occurred was
bound to happen. This is rarely an accurate assessment,
and is rarely helpful.
* Egocentrism affects us in two ways. The first is when we
give ourselves more credit for an outcome than an outside
party would attribute. The second occurs when we take
more blame for an outcome than would an outside observer. In either case, it can be difficult to remember that
neither success nor failure is due to the efforts of just one
person (Roberto, 2009).

Borges, Seth. 28 Nov 2016. "The Science of Breathing: How Slowing It Down Can Make
Us Calm and Productive." Forbes
Bransford, John D., Ann L. Brown, and Rodney R. Cocking. 2000. How People Learn:
Brain, Mind, Experience, and School. Washington: National Academy Press.
Browne, M. Neil and Stuart M. Keeley. 1994. Asking the Right Questions: A Guide to
Critical Thinking. Upper Saddle River: Pearson.
Caine, B. A Composite Model -- Problem Solving, Decision Making, Planning Execution
and Evaluation. Personal Conversations.
Clayton, Chuck. 2007. The Re-Discovery of Common Sense: a Guide to the Lost Art of
Common Sense. New York: iUniverse.
Frank, Michael J., Michael X. Cohen and Alan G. Sanfey. 2009. "Multiple Systems
in Decision Making: A Neurocomputational Perspective." Current Directions in
Psychological Sciences. 18:2, 73-77.

HERDING AND SELF-HERDING
Gladwell, Malcolm. 2005. Blink. New York: Back Bay Books.
External stimuli also influence decision making. Herding
is what happens when we see a group of people lined up to
Hunt, Andy. 2008. Pragmatic Thinking and Learning: Refactor Your Wetware. Raleigh:
Pragmatic Bookshelf.
purchase something we have not yet tried; there is a presumption of quality assigned to the desired product simply
Lennick, Doug and Fred Kiel. 2007. Moral Intelligence: Enhancing Business Performance
& Leadership Success. Upper Saddle River: Pearson.
because people want it. Our actions are influenced by the
determinations of other people's decision-making process
Newell, Ben, et. al. 2009. "Think, Blink or Sleep on It? The impact of modes of thought
on complex decision making." The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology 62:4,
(Ariely, 2008).
707-732.
Self-Herding is what happens when we make deciOgden, Pat, et. al. 2006. "A Sensorimotor Approach to the Treatment of Trauma and
sions based on our previous behavior. In short, every time
Dissociation." Psychiatric Clinics of North America 29:1, 263-279.
we make a choice without processing the pros and cons,
Plous, Scott. 1993. The Psychology of Judgment and Decision Making, New York:
we are effectively "lining up" behind ourselves. The more we
McGraw-Hill
engage in that action, the longer the line becomes and the
Roberto, Michael A. 2009. Art of Critical Decision Making. DVD #5932. Chantilly: The
easier the decision becomes until we have stopped thinkGreat Courses.
ing about the whys altogether. When a choice
is first presented, ideally we would take the
time to reflect on the pluses and minuses of the
choice. We would think about the cost associated with taking the action, as well as the benefits
(Ariely, 2008). The next time we are faced with
the same choice, the deliberation process takes
less time, and so on. At some point, we are not
actively engaging in a decision-making process.
e S E T
Like biases and assumptions, the processes
of Herding and Self-Herding are not inherRIGGING
ently good or bad. It is simply a phenomenon
COSTUMING
that humans experience. Imagine how difficult
ESSENTIAL SKILLS FOR
ENTERTAINMENT TECHNICIANS
LIGHTING & ELECTRICS
life would be if every time we were faced with a
FUNDAMENTALS & SAFETY
decision, we took time to engage our decisionmaking skills, especially if we have already come
SOUND (2017)
to a decision regarding the matter at hand.
DOWNLOAD THE ESET
SPECIAL EFFECTS (2017)
We would be paralyzed and unable to move
APP FROM YOUR APP
MULTIMEDIA/PROJECTION (2017)
STORE TODAY!
through our day, appearing perhaps as someAND MORE...
one who has a damaged prefrontal cortex. On
the other hand, blindly relying on our history
of decisions seems equally reckless. Develop
FOR TECHNICIANS:
an awareness as to when we are being effected
Show your command of essential skills in
by either of these phenomena. That awareness
your field
can remind us to establish a clear set of criteria
when we are making that first [keystone] deciFOR EMPLOYERS:
sion, because that decision may be the first one
Hire smarter and maintain standards of
in a long line of decisions (Ariely, 2008).
technical mastery
Teaching decision making to our students
and improving our own decision-making process is a tricky task because we are imperfect
Learn more at usitt.org/eset

e
F

ENTRY LEVEL
ONLINE & PRACTICAL
EXAMS FOR
ENTERTAINMENT
TECHNICIANS

2 0 1 7

theatre design

& technology

http://www.usitt.org/eset

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Theatre Design & Technology - Fall 2017