Individual Differences in Rule-Based Systems of Knowledge with Behavioral Implications

The knowledge of an expert can be represented by expert systems as heuristics, rules with if-then structures and associated confidence values; the inference engine of the expert system provides valid conclusions from these declarations. Differences among individuals hold several kinds of important knowledge about both the underlying structure of the domain and related domains, and provide confidence factors, a sort of reliability, for the heuristics. Small expert systems for health care choices are described as well as a more realistic large one to predict land management in the Southern Andes. Models based on model responses are contrasted with ones which permit multiple, differing responses through multiple pathways.