Analyzing Political Decision Making from an Information-Processing Perspective
Jesse
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6231606 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Donald A Sylvan (corresponding author), Ashok Goel, Ashok K Goel (0000-0003-4043-0614), B Chandrasekaran (0000-0002-3673-9435) |
| Year | 1990 |
| Volume | 34 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 74 |
| Publication date | 1990-02-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | American Journal of Political Science (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0092-5853 • E-ISSN: 1540-5907 |
| Publisher | JSTOR (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.2307/2111512 |
| OpenAlex | W2324439084 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 11 |
| References cited | 15 |
Political behavior is argued to result from interacting political and information-processing mechanisms. Political mechanisms deal with the values, interests, and influence of the political actors, while information-processing mechanisms concern themselves with the actors' use of knowledge and experience in exploring the space of choices and actions. Information-processing approaches are argued to provide a language for expressing theories of political decision making with greater precision than before. This language also enables computational experimentation with these theories. The general information-processing approach is illustrated in detail for the specific domain of Japanese energy and foreign policy decision making. A political theory of decision making by the Japanese political and economic elite in the domain of its energy supply security is developed from an information-processing perspective. This theory is embodied in an experimental system called JESSE. JESSE contains multiple modules that perform the generic task of classification and a module that performs the generic task of plan selection. The system is initiated by supplying information about an energy-related situation. It classifies the situation into types of threats posed to Japanese energy supply security and retrieves stored plans from memory. Its output can range from a decision not to take any action to a large number of actions some of which may appear contradictory. The theory embodied in JESSE is argued to apply to political decision-making situations in which there are limits on institutional rivalry; the members of the decision-making group have been socialized similarly; the problem domain is seen as sacrosanct; and there is substantial prior analysis and planning. The issue of validating the theory is addressed, and JESSE is found to be a plausible model of Japanese decision making in the domain of her energy supply security
Cognitive psychology · Domain (mathematical analysis · Economics · Embodied cognition · Information processing · Management · Perspective (graphical · Political science · Politics · Task (project management · Artificial Intelligence · Computer Science · Law · Opinion Dynamics and Social Influence · Psychology
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| Unique citing works | 11 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,31 |
| Citation span | 1990 - 2022 (33) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 11 |