Team information processing under partial observability. 1. Static task environment

The authors consider the problem of optimal information seeking under partial observability in a static task environment. A normative model is developed and several normative hypotheses were generated. A team-in-the-loop experiment was designed to validate the normative predictions. The human data are compared with the cognitive biases of primacy and undervaluing of others' opinions. A normative-descriptive model incorporating these descriptive factors was developed via structural modifications of the normative model. The results of the normative-descriptive model were found to be in excellent agreement with the decisions made by the human subjects. The information seeking behavior of humans was found to be highly nonoptimal.>