Allocating Resources over Time in Benign and Harsh Environments

Abstract

We studied the allocation of resources in environments of varying degrees of harshness where losses may occur that make the task difficult or impossible to complete. Subjects were presented with a task requiring them to carefully allocate resources over a 3-day time period. Results indicated that subjects sometimes approached the optimal solution found with LP, and that performance improved in response to the demanding requirements of a harsh environment. However, subjects did not plan well for possible losses. Instead, they revised their strategies after losses occurred. These planning failures meant that subjects were not always able to conserve sufficient resources to insure task completion, and only about 50% of the tasks were completed in the harshest conditions.