Cognitive Scaffold

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MENTAL MODEL · M4035

Simon's Scissors

Simon's Scissors
Learn & MetacognitionmediumCognitive Science
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Updated 2026-08-08

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INTRODUCTION

English translation pending.

CORE DEFINITION

Herbert Simon's metaphor for bounded rationality. Behavior, he argued, is shaped by the intersection of two blades: the cognitive and computational limits of the decision maker, and the structure of the environment that presents the options. Examining either blade alone yields an incomplete explanation. The metaphor grounds Simon's rejection of the fully rational economic actor in favor of the administrative person who satisfices rather than optimizes, and it frames his call for a behavioral account that joins psychology to the structure of the task.

SCAFFOLDING EFFECT

psychology

Reduce cognitive load

- Blame reallocation: before calling a decision irrational, inspect the environment that made it locally sensible. - Dual analysis: examine the decision maker's cognitive limits and the option structure as separate variables. - Design lever: change the structure of the environment rather than only lecturing people about better choices.

anchor

Anchor fast decisions

A decision is jointly produced by the search capacity of the agent and the arrangement of alternatives the environment offers. Change either blade and the cut changes. This explains why behavior that looks foolish under an assumption of unlimited computation can be optimal given real limits on attention and time, and why identical people behave differently in differently structured settings. Explanation requires both blades, because the same cognitive limit produces different outcomes under different structures.

MINIMUM ACTION

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Source support: Explicit

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    en.wikipedia.orghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bounded_rationalityZH · Explicit
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