The Use of Microworlds to Study Dynamic Decision Making

Dynamic decision-making (DDM) research grew out of a perceived need for understanding how people control dynamic, complex, real-world systems. DDM has describable characteristics and, with some unavoidable sacrifice of realism, is suitable for study in a laboratory setting through the use of complex computer simulations commonly called ‘microworlds’. This paper presents a taxonomic definition of DDM, an updated review of existing microworlds and their characteristics, and a set of cognitive demands imposed by DDM tasks. Although the study of DDM has garnered little attention to date, we believe that both technological advancement and the relationships between DDM and naturalistic decision making, complex problem solving, and general systems theory have made DDM a viable process by which to study how people make decisions in dynamic, real-world environments.