Training Intuitive Decision Making in a Simulated Real-World Environment

OBJECTIVE We investigated whether naturalistic, intuitive (pattern recognition-based) decision making can be developed via implicit statistical learning in a simulated real-world environment. BACKGROUND To our knowledge, no definitive studies have actually shown that implicit learning plays a causal role in the development of intuitive decision making when the latter is defined as pattern recognition of real-world, or simulated real-world, environmental situations. METHOD The simulated environment was presented dynamically so as to induce a sense of simulated locomotion through the scene and over sequences of objects on the ground. During training, participants passively viewed the objects sequences; during test, participants made intuitive decisions about related or unrelated sequences. RESULTS Intuitive decision making can be developed via implicit learning. Articulatory suppression, which affects working memory, exerted a significant inhibitory effect on the training of intuitive decision making. Intuitive decision making trained in the simulated environment fully transferred to a flat display (but not vice versa). CONCLUSION Intuitive decision making is developed by an implicit learning process that is engaged by the meaning inherent in naturalistic scenes. APPLICATION Implicit learning can be used for training intuitive decision making.