FUTURE THINKING AND STATISTICAL THINKING AS PREPARATION FOR ENGAGEMENT IN TODAY'S DECISION MAKING

摘要

Future thinking, often seen as another cognitive style, is, at its core, probabilistic and empathetic. Those high in future thinking abilities can envision a future with its given possibilities and chart a course of action with a "feeling" for interactions yet to come. Business Statistics is one of several courses students in our business school are required to take. It is also one of the courses students have difficulty in performing well. The real benefit of exposure to statistics is not just mathematical understanding, but the development of an ability to think conceptually and to think about the future. These two perspectives can be invaluable preparation for engagement in today's global community. As originally envisioned, statistical thinking can be arrayed with future thinking to form complementary cognitive style dimensions. Observations on Asian vs Western cognitive styles have documented the importance of bridging difference approaches to information processing and decision making for successful interaction. In this paper, we examine how an understanding of the concepts of statistics can enhance and compliment the ability to think about the future and, if properly employed, bridge cognitive style differences.