Strength of the Proposal
The proposal seems to cover the topic of the influence of stress and anxiety on decision-making in a general sense. The main strength of the proposal is that it explores the major concepts behind the phenomenon, including heuristics, dual-system theory, and others. This exploration allows the proposal to establish the groundwork for the future research project. In particular, as the concepts are supported by the evidence, this part of the proposal can be further used as a foundation for a literature review and a deep dive into the topic. In addition, it makes an excellent use of personal touch: “whether I am trying to figure out how to pick the best article for research or what to eat, I will try to explore the theories and research underlying reasoning processes.” Furthermore, the work utilizes concepts that appeal to a wide audience: “because of our limited capacity for information acquisition and processing, we often settle for “good enough” outcomes rather than those that would be optimal given the available data.”
First Impressions of the Work
At first glance, the works appear to be well-researched and well-structured. It introduces the topic of heuristics in a way that feels natural and easy to comprehend. However, certain areas are not developed to their full potential. It would be beneficial to list and explain various behavioral shortcuts, providing real-life examples of how they benefited or disturbed certain work processes. Overall, the work utilizes a satisfactory combination of scientific and expressive language that helps one understand the topic thoroughly.
Areas of Clarification
Despite having great basic elements, the proposal lacks coherence to some degree. It does not fully explain how it will explore the causal links between stress and anxiety, and decision-making in the first paragraphs. The proposal needs to be organized in a way that shows how different concepts of heuristics, dual-system, and ‘flight-or-fight’ theories are connected. It can be achieved by drawing inferences and making a concrete summary of how stress affects decision-making by the end of the proposal. Moreover, the area of decision-making seems to be the corporate environment, but it is not clearly stated as a focus of the research. In the process of reading, certain questions have arisen. The first question is, what kind of brain activity do strong emotions trigger? The second question is, what are other mechanisms available other than heuristics? The third is why exactly are other mechanisms less effective than heuristics?
In addition, the connection between stress and the environment lacks clear evidence. Furthermore, the effects of stress-induced decision-making can be analyzed on the examples of the companies to prove the existence of the causal relation. The criteria, such as profits and losses, can be used to measure the presence of the negative impact. If these clarifications are heeded, the given information will become easier to digest and more scientifically accurate.
Remaining Questions
In the draft, a serious emphasis is laid on the physiological mechanisms that influence the use of heuristics. The text states, “Yet, heuristics are not without their flaws. The decision they make might not be the best possible one, and they might even be completely wrong”. Given that heuristics could lead to false assumptions and detrimental outcomes, it is necessary to include a discussion of an alternative. The first question that remains unanswered here is what kind of mechanisms other than heuristics are there? Further, the work states, “confidence and competence must be distinguished (Hallo et al., 2020).” The second question that needs to be answered is how to effectively distinguish between the two concepts.
Reflection and Influence of the Peer’s Proposal on my Research
In my research, I have not considered stress as a factor in decision-making to a greater extent in the work of law enforcement. I can use stress as a potential negative factor that can influence the connection between positive social learning and decision-making outcomes. The law-enforcement field is also considered to be inducive to a stressful environment like the corporate one. Therefore, I can use this new perspective for my further research.
Reference
Hallo, L., Nguyen, T., Gorod, A., & Tran, P. (2020). Effectiveness of leadership decision-making in complex systems. Systems, 8(1), 5. Web.