Tamara K. Kowalczyk
Western Washington University
Richard G. Brody
University of New Haven
John M. Coulter
Western New England College
Abstract: This study provides evidence on how the use of a computerized decision aid affects knowledge acquisition. While the intent of such computer-based decision aids is to improve and support unaided human judgments, it is unclear whether the use of expert systems actually facilitate the development of expertise. Seventy-six subjects completed a hypothetical decision task where one of two types of decision aids was used: an expert system or traditional textual materials. Results suggest that those using a computer-based decision aid acquired and encoded in memory less declarative knowledge than those using textual reference materials. Implications of the findings are discussed.
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