Mind that cue: decision support systems as an aid for decision training

Facilitating the acquisition of effective and efficient decision-making skills remains one of the most problematic issues in industrial training. It is all the more critical in environments such as aviation and fire-fighting where the consequences associated with ineffective or inefficient decision-making can be significant. Reduced processing decision suppott systems provide the potential to mitigate the risks associated with poor decision-making by reducing the cognitive load imposed on less experienced operators. However, empirical evidence suggests that, to take full advantage of reduced processing decision support systems, decision-makers must be able to identify and utilise task-relevant cues. These cues can be acquired through training or through the design of decision support system interfaces. The current study was designed to investigate whether the decision performance of naive patticipants could be improved through: (a) reduced processing interfaces that emphasise particular cues; and (b) the provision of feedback concerning decision accuracy. The results indicated that the combination of decision support system interfaces that emphasise patticular cues, and the provision of decision-related feedback, improved the accuracy of subsequent decisions. The outcomes of this study suggest that the decision performance of inexperienced operators can be improved through a combination of cue-based decision support training and feedback.