I am a cognitive psychologist interested in inference, uncertainty, and choice. Most of my recent research
explains errors people purportedly make in the laboratory by (a) adopting a different (usually Bayesian)
normative approach to the task of interest and (b) taking into account the typical structure of the environment.
I often find that "errors" are the result of people behaving as (qualitative) Bayesians who make reasonable
assumptions about task parameters that reflect how the world usually works. I don't claim that people never
make mistakes, only that people's behavior is much richer, more interesting -- and often more rational -- than
usually depicted in the judgment and decision-making literature.
Selected recent publications:
Liersch, M. J., & McKenzie, C. R. M. (in press). Duration neglect by numbers -- and its elimination by graphs. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes.
[pdf]
McKenzie, C. R. M., Liersch, M. J., & Yaniv, I. (in press). Overconfidence in interval estimates: What does expertise buy you? Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes.
[pdf]
Sher, S., & McKenzie, C. R. M. (2008). Framing effects and rationality. In N. Chater & M. Oaksford (Eds.), The probabilistic mind: Prospects for Bayesian cognitive science (pp. 79-96). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
[pdf]
McKenzie, C. R. M., & Mikkelsen, L. A. (2007). A Bayesian view of covariation assessment.
Cognitive Psychology, 54, 33-61. [pdf]
Sher, S., & McKenzie, C. R. M. (2006). Information leakage from logically equivalent frames.
Cognition, 101, 467-494. [pdf]
McKenzie, C. R. M., Liersch, M. J., & Finkelstein, S. R. (2006). Recommendations implicit in policy defaults.
Psychological Science, 17, 414-420. [pdf]
McKenzie, C. R. M. (2006). Increased sensitivity to differentially diagnostic answers using
familiar materials: Implications for confirmation bias. Memory and Cognition, 34, 577-588.
[pdf]
curriculum vitae
(which
includes other downloadable publications)
Psychology Courses
Psychology 105: Introduction to Cognitive Psychology (Spring 2008) Syllabus
Psychology 148: Psychology of Judgment and Decision Making (Summer 2003) Syllabus
Psychology 209: Topics in Judgment and Decision Making (Fall 2005) Reading List
Psychology 237: Human Rationality (Spring 2005) Reading List
La Jolla Cove
MBA Courses
MGT 222: Creativity and Innovation (Spring 2006)
MGT 409: Organizational Strategy and Human Resource Management (Winter 2008)
