Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

The Representativeness Heuristic02:13

The Representativeness Heuristic

16.7K
The representative heuristic describes a biased way of thinking, in which you unintentionally stereotype someone or something. For example, you may assume that your professors spend their free time reading books and engaging in intellectual conversation, because the idea of them spending their time playing volleyball or visiting an amusement park does not fit in with your stereotypes of professors.
16.7K
Decision Making: Traditional Method01:14

Decision Making: Traditional Method

5.1K
The process of hypothesis testing based on the traditional method includes calculating the critical value, testing the value of the test statistic using the sample data, and interpreting these values.
First, a specific claim about the population parameter is decided based on the research question and is stated in a simple form. Further, an opposing statement to this claim is also stated. These statements can act as null and alternative hypotheses, out of which a null hypothesis would be a...
5.1K
Self-Evaluation: Self-Enhancement and Self-Verification03:00

Self-Evaluation: Self-Enhancement and Self-Verification

5.7K
Social psychologists have documented that feeling good about ourselves and maintaining positive self-esteem is a powerful motivator of human behavior (Tavris & Aronson, 2008). In the United States, members of the predominant culture typically think very highly of themselves and view themselves as good people who are above average on many desirable traits (Ehrlinger, Gilovich, & Ross, 2005). Often, our behavior, attitudes, and beliefs are affected when we experience a threat to our...
5.7K
Decision Making01:20

Decision Making

904
Decision-making is a fundamental cognitive process that involves evaluating alternatives and selecting among them. This process can range from simple choices, such as deciding what to wear, to complex decisions, like choosing a major in college or a career path. The complexity of the decision often dictates the approach we use, which can be broadly categorized into two types: automatic and controlled decision-making.
Automatic decision-making is fast, intuitive, and relies on gut feelings...
904
Automatic Processing and Automatic Social Behavior01:28

Automatic Processing and Automatic Social Behavior

218
Automatic processing refers to the cognitive operations that occur without conscious intent or awareness, playing a fundamental role in shaping social cognition and behavior. These processes enable individuals to navigate complex social environments efficiently by relying on mental shortcuts and pre-existing knowledge structures known as schemas. One of the most influential mechanisms underlying automatic processing is priming, which subtly activates mental representations through exposure to...
218
The Anchoring-and-Adjustment Heuristic01:25

The Anchoring-and-Adjustment Heuristic

7.7K
In order to make good decisions, we use our knowledge and our reasoning. Often, this knowledge and reasoning is sound and solid. However, sometimes, we are swayed by biases or by others manipulating a situation. For example, let’s say you and three friends wanted to rent a house and had a combined target budget of $1,600. The realtor shows you only very run-down houses for $1,600 and then shows you a very nice house for $2,000. Might you ask each person to pay more in rent to get the...
7.7K

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

People make graded judgments about the inconceivable.

Cognition·2026
Same author

Non-negotiable problems for a negotiation framework of morality.

The Behavioral and brain sciences·2026
Same author

Re-evaluating Theory of Mind evaluation in large language models.

Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences·2025
Same author

Learning Loopholes: The Development of Intentional Misunderstandings in Children.

Child development·2025
Same author

Approximate planning in spatial search.

PLoS computational biology·2024
Same author

What is "Where": Physical Reasoning Informs Object Location.

Open mind : discoveries in cognitive science·2023
Same journal

Incipient Constituents: Phonesthemes Facilitate Word Processing in English.

Open mind : discoveries in cognitive science·2026
Same journal

Tracking Visual Statistical Learning with Steady-State Visual Evoked Potentials: Effects of Exemplar and Category Information.

Open mind : discoveries in cognitive science·2026
Same journal

Luck and Intentional Action: A Causal Account.

Open mind : discoveries in cognitive science·2026
Same journal

Expectations of Reciprocal Generosity Are Specific to Equal Relationships.

Open mind : discoveries in cognitive science·2026
Same journal

Resolving the Vagueness of Quantifiers With Explicit Expectations.

Open mind : discoveries in cognitive science·2026
Same journal

Where You Look Is What You Get: Individual Fixation Height Predicts Biases in Face Perception.

Open mind : discoveries in cognitive science·2026
See all related articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jan 17, 2026

Characterization of the Sense of Agency over the Actions of Neural-machine Interface-operated Prostheses
05:21

Characterization of the Sense of Agency over the Actions of Neural-machine Interface-operated Prostheses

Published on: January 7, 2019

8.3K

People Evaluate Agents Based on the Algorithms That Drive Their Behavior.

Eric Bigelow1, Tomer Ullman1

  • 1Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA.

Open Mind : Discoveries in Cognitive Science
|September 17, 2025
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

People evaluating agents consider the underlying algorithm, not just performance. This study reveals humans are intuitive cognitivists, valuing the

Keywords:
Turing Testgeneralizationintelligence attributionprogram learningtheory of mind

More Related Videos

Author Spotlight: A Novel Setup to Conduct Naturalistic Laboratory Experiments with Real Human Actors in Scenarios
07:43

Author Spotlight: A Novel Setup to Conduct Naturalistic Laboratory Experiments with Real Human Actors in Scenarios

Published on: August 4, 2023

2.7K
The HoneyComb Paradigm for Research on Collective Human Behavior
06:48

The HoneyComb Paradigm for Research on Collective Human Behavior

Published on: January 19, 2019

9.8K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jan 17, 2026

Characterization of the Sense of Agency over the Actions of Neural-machine Interface-operated Prostheses
05:21

Characterization of the Sense of Agency over the Actions of Neural-machine Interface-operated Prostheses

Published on: January 7, 2019

8.3K
Author Spotlight: A Novel Setup to Conduct Naturalistic Laboratory Experiments with Real Human Actors in Scenarios
07:43

Author Spotlight: A Novel Setup to Conduct Naturalistic Laboratory Experiments with Real Human Actors in Scenarios

Published on: August 4, 2023

2.7K
The HoneyComb Paradigm for Research on Collective Human Behavior
06:48

The HoneyComb Paradigm for Research on Collective Human Behavior

Published on: January 19, 2019

9.8K

Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Science
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Human-Computer Interaction

Background:

  • Humans intuitively evaluate agent performance by considering either observable metrics or the underlying computational processes.
  • Distinguishing between intuitive behaviorism (focus on external performance) and intuitive cognitivism (focus on internal algorithms) is crucial for understanding human judgment.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate whether people prioritize external performance metrics or internal algorithmic processes when evaluating agents.
  • To propose and test a framework with three dimensions: Action Efficiency, Representation Efficiency, and Generalization, to differentiate intuitive behaviorism and cognitivism.

Main Methods:

  • Conducted an experiment with 598 participants evaluating pairs of maze-solving agents and their underlying programs.
  • Agents were presented with a single maze-solving example, with pairs varying across the three proposed dimensions.
  • Participants selected the 'better' program, allowing for analysis of their evaluative criteria.

Main Results:

  • The proposed framework successfully predicted participants' program choices across the experimental tasks.
  • Results indicated a consistent tendency for participants to favor programs based on their underlying algorithmic properties.
  • Evidence supports the hypothesis that human evaluation extends beyond mere performance to encompass algorithmic considerations.

Conclusions:

  • Humans act as intuitive cognitivists, considering the internal algorithms of agents rather than solely focusing on external performance.
  • The findings have implications for designing AI systems that align with human intuitive judgments and for understanding human-AI interaction.
  • Future research can explore the nuances of these dimensions in more complex agent behaviors and tasks.