Past psychological research also suggests that individuals can only use 2 to 5 analytical dimensions systematically when they attempt to analyze or make predictions about ill-structured political problems. Typically people use simplifying concepts and beliefs to construct an initial problem representation. This representation and the reliance on prior beliefs and value preferences rather than relevant incoming information often leads to analysts' making normatively incorrect inferences and judgments. Psychologists have been cataloguing a rather large number of systematic and recurring cognitive biases. Unfortunately, the pervasiveness of cognitive conceit, or an unwarranted faith in the adequacy of our intuitive processes, leads most individuals to reject the need for explicit decision aids.
Most courses also seek to increase midshipmen's problem solving skills.
While many of these activities do not require extensive use of computations or computational aids, most of these activities do require midshipmen to develop new critical thinking skills in order to understand and analyze complex but ill-structured problems. Midshipmen's ability to generate new solutions to a variety of ill-structured problems are also enhanced by learning new knowledge, additional critical analytical skills, and how to use theories and the scientific method to test theories to establish causal links and generate new knowledge. Some activities in Group III courses are designed to help midshipmen learn how to use explicit problem-solving aids. However, computation is usually a minor part of these activities and skills since we are dealing with messy and complex problems with no agreed-upon solution. The summary of assignments and activities listed below illustrates the diverse and creative ways that midshipmen are being encouraged to learn new problem solving skills in social science and humanities courses.