1. Sanjay Goel, School of Business/Center for Information Forensics and Assurance University at Albany Proprietary Information 1 Unit Outline General Policy and Law Issues Module 1: Introduction to Policy Module 2: Evolution of Policy  Module 3: Psychology Module 4: Summary

2. Module 4 Psychology

3. Sanjay Goel, School of Business/Center for Information Forensics and Assurance University at Albany Proprietary Information 3 Students should be able to: –Gain understanding of how psychology applies to policy –Comprehend where psychology integrates itself into the policy process –Realize the biases which affect people and can hurt policy development –Understand how to best communicate policy and the barriers to understanding and compliance. Psychology Learning Objectives

4. Sanjay Goel, School of Business/Center for Information Forensics and Assurance University at Albany Proprietary Information 4 Policy attempts to alter human behavior It is influenced by politics as well as economics –e.g. clashes between groups (employers vs. employees, nation vs. nation, ethnic group vs. ethnic group) Policy does not solely imply economic well-being, but also social well-being. Therefore, it is important to have a sound understanding of human thought and behavior when creating policy. Psychology Policy and Psychology

5. Sanjay Goel, School of Business/Center for Information Forensics and Assurance University at Albany Proprietary Information 5 Psychology Areas Where Policy is Influenced Objectives Social Processes Policy Cognitive Thought Individual Abilities What are the important goals that should be impacted by this policy? What is the impact of psychology on organizational processes? What are the implications of personality in development of policies? How will differences in abilities and understanding impact policy enactment? Adapted from: Fraser, C., & Burchell, B. (eds.). (2001). Social Psychology and Policy in Introducing Social Psychology. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers.

6. Sanjay Goel, School of Business/Center for Information Forensics and Assurance University at Albany Proprietary Information 6 People have different ideas about how the mission or goals of an organization should be translated into policy. Often times, there are conflicts between what initiatives are more important –e.g. Democrat vs. Republican outlook on taxes, the environment, corporate interests, etc. It is essential to limit scope of a policy due to resource constraints. Psychology Objectives

7. Sanjay Goel, School of Business/Center for Information Forensics and Assurance University at Albany Proprietary Information 7 Policies must consider their impact on current social processes. –We should realize what psychological reasons underlie social problems (See to the left: Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs). Psychology Social Processes Adapted from: Maslow, A.H. (1970). Motivation and Personality, 2 nd ed. New York: Harper & Row. Biological and Physiological (Basic Life) Needs Air, Food, Drink, Shelter, Warmth, Sex, Sleep, etc. Safety Needs Protection, Security, Order, Law, Limits, Stability, etc. Esteem Needs Achievement, Status, Responsibility, Reputation, etc. Belonging and Love Needs Family, Affection, Relationships, Work Group, etc. Self-Actualization Personal Growth and Fulfillment

8. Sanjay Goel, School of Business/Center for Information Forensics and Assurance University at Albany Proprietary Information 8 Policy development usually involves the interaction of multiple people from various groups. There are specific advantages and disadvantages to group decision-making. In addition, individuals within a group can have judgment biases, which need to be overcome to make an appropriate decision. Psychology Cognitive Thought

9. Sanjay Goel, School of Business/Center for Information Forensics and Assurance University at Albany Proprietary Information 9 Results in increase in knowledge, information, skills and abilities. Stimulates debate among various members. Allows for understanding about decisions and alternatives that were rejected and increased acceptance (participants feel sense of ownership). Improves participants’ collaborative problem- solving and interpersonal skills. Develops trust among participants. Increases job satisfaction. Psychology Group Decision Making: Advantages

10. Sanjay Goel, School of Business/Center for Information Forensics and Assurance University at Albany Proprietary Information 10 Individuals part of the decision-making process, may feel social pressure to conform. One person often dominates a group, leading to focus on whatever alternative the person favors. Takes time to come up with a decision that everyone agrees upon. Psychology Group Decision Making: Disadvantages

11. Sanjay Goel, School of Business/Center for Information Forensics and Assurance University at Albany Proprietary Information 11 Anchoring and Adjustment –People may use a anchor point to make a decision and advance just beyond that point. –Affects ability to make accurate estimates that can affect budget and completion of projects. Availability –People are likely to recall and use information that is more recent and may not consider all information. –Affects accuracy of information used in decision process. Psychology Heuristics That Lead to Judgment Bias Representativeness –People most often compare current events to past events which they have experience and related knowledge or beliefs. This may lead to a solution which is not entirely accurate. –Affects estimates of the occurrence of events and misperceptions about whether a series of events is random.

12. Sanjay Goel, School of Business/Center for Information Forensics and Assurance University at Albany Proprietary Information 12 Availability heuristic leads to ease of recall bias, which implies that people tend to believe that an action that occurred more recently happens more often that an event which is less easily recalled. Psychology Judgment Bias: Ease of Recall amount of perceived occurrences recency of event How Ease of Recall Bias Works

13. Sanjay Goel, School of Business/Center for Information Forensics and Assurance University at Albany Proprietary Information 13 A resulting bias of the representativeness heuristic is a misconception of chance. This is when people judge the randomness of a sequence of events while the events available may not be statistically significant. Psychology Judgment Bias: Misconception of Chance

14. Sanjay Goel, School of Business/Center for Information Forensics and Assurance University at Albany Proprietary Information 14 A resulting bias of the anchoring and adjustment heuristic is overconfidence which leads to inaccurate judgments based on ignorance. Psychology Judgment Bias: Overconfidence

15. Sanjay Goel, School of Business/Center for Information Forensics and Assurance University at Albany Proprietary Information 15 Confirmation trap bias is similar to “self-fulfilling prophecy”. People will avoid contradictory or does not challenge information and try to find information which confirms and supports their views. Psychology Judgment Bias: Confirmation Trap

16. Sanjay Goel, School of Business/Center for Information Forensics and Assurance University at Albany Proprietary Information 16 Framing effects occur due to differences in presentation or framing which affect the outcome of decisions. –People are more likely to take risks when presented information in terms of losses instead of in terms of gains. When making a decision, people should look at issues in multiple frames. Psychology Bias: Framing Effects

17. Sanjay Goel, School of Business/Center for Information Forensics and Assurance University at Albany Proprietary Information 17 “Quitters never win and winners never quit”, but sometimes it may be better to “quit while you’re ahead”. Often decision-makers will have to decide when to give up on a course of action or increase commitment to its success. People are most likely to give up more resources because they: –Do not want to waste previous efforts –Feel a need to justify past actions to protect egos Psychology Bias: Escalation of Commitment

18. Sanjay Goel, School of Business/Center for Information Forensics and Assurance University at Albany Proprietary Information 18 Groups which have worked together for a long time and share core values often times are stressed to come up with a common decision in a crisis. Groupthink involves “excessive conformity” and participants are likely to agree to something to not upset the group. This involves: –Loss of ability to examine past decisions critically. –Absence of ethical concerns for resulting effects of decisions. Groupthink can be avoided by stimulating critical evaluation, conflict, assignment of a devil’s advocate, and invitation of knowledgeable outsider opinions. Psychology Bias: Groupthink

19. Sanjay Goel, School of Business/Center for Information Forensics and Assurance University at Albany Proprietary Information 19 People are born with innate abilities and best learn or absorb information in different ways. For policies to be effectively enacted, it is beneficial to make sure that the impacted persons are communicated the policy in the best way possible. Communication can be verbal (spoken or written) and nonverbal. It is important to consider what is functional and dysfunctional communication. Psychology Individual Abilities

20. Sanjay Goel, School of Business/Center for Information Forensics and Assurance University at Albany Proprietary Information 20 Psychology Communication: Functions and Dysfunctions Functions Information Sharing Innovation Performance Feedback Integration Persuasion Emotion Dysfunctions Selective Perception Organizational Silence Message Timing Information Overload Filtration Message Distortion Semantic Problems Source: Champoux, J.E. (2003). Organizational Behavior: Essential Tenets, 2/e. Canada: South-Western

21. Sanjay Goel, School of Business/Center for Information Forensics and Assurance University at Albany Proprietary Information 21 Psychology Communication: Functions Communication is facilitated when people share information, and feedback is given on how people are doing in terms of complying with a policy. Integration allows for coordination of policy across multiple levels. Being able to persuade people to change according to a policy is important. People need to also be able to express themselves and how they feel about the policy. Supporting innovation helps in playing a major role in organizational change to the external environment.

22. Sanjay Goel, School of Business/Center for Information Forensics and Assurance University at Albany Proprietary Information 22 Psychology Communication: Dysfunctions Problems in communicating information include: –Selective perception: People only hear what they want to hear. –Semantic problems: People interpret a message other than the intent (e.g. due to language barriers or in- group jargon) –Message Distortion: Creator of message and receiver do not have same frame of reference. –Filtration: Reduction of information content leading to misinterpretation. –Information Overload: more information is given that is able to be processed. –Message timing: Unrealistic deadlines or deadlines too far away to be remembered. –Organizational Silence: Absence of communication in that receivers of policy are unwilling to voice their opinions due to belief in futility or reprisal.

23. Sanjay Goel, School of Business/Center for Information Forensics and Assurance University at Albany Proprietary Information 23 Policy is influenced by psychological leanings at many levels. In determining objectives, there are often conflicting ideas which must be resolved because of constraints. People have underlying needs which should be considered. If basic needs are not met, then people will not be happy with policy. Group decision-making has many advantages and disadvantages. Biases exist which can adversely affect policy development. Effective communication is essential for successful policy enactment. Psychology Summary