ABSTRACT
Scientific research into human cognition is well established by decades of rigorous behavioral experimentation, studies of the human brain, and computer simulations. All of these converge to provide scientific insights into perception, judgment, and decision making (Dror & Thomas, 2005; Kosslyn & Koenig, 1995). Many of these theoretical insights play an important role in our understanding of how humans behave in the real world. The scientific research has important bearings on how human perception, judgment, and decision making can be enhanced, as well as how both lay people and experts can (and do) make mistakes. Bridging scientific theory to the real world can assist our understanding of human performance and error and help us evaluate the reliability of humans. Furthermore, it has implications on how to minimize such error through proper selection and training, best practices, and utilizing technology (Dror, 2007, in press). In this chapter, scientific findings about human cognition are discussed and linked to practical issues in the real world of investigations.
