Cognitive Scaffold

Preparing your thinking workspace

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MENTAL MODEL · M6496

ARAS

ARAS
DecideHigh supportDecision Science
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Updated 2026-08-08

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INTRODUCTION

English translation pending.

CORE DEFINITION

Additive ratio assessment is a multi-attribute decision model that compares alternatives against an optimal reference alternative. Values are first normalised and weighted, then each alternative is compared with the ideal to produce a utility degree that expresses how far it is from the best achievable state. Rather than asking only whether one option beats another, the method reports the distance from a full score. That makes the result easier to interpret in procurement, site selection and other complex choices. The ideal alternative must remain feasible, or the ratios become meaningless.

SCAFFOLDING EFFECT

psychology

Reduce cognitive load

- Normalise the data: convert indicators with different units onto a comparable scale. - Build the ideal: define the best achievable value for each criterion as the reference. - Read the utility: rank alternatives by how close each comes to that full score.

anchor

Anchor fast decisions

Different criteria arrive in incompatible units, so the first step rescales them and applies weights that reflect their relative importance. An ideal alternative is constructed by taking the best observed value on every criterion, which becomes a fixed benchmark. Each option's weighted score is then divided by the ideal's score, yielding a utility degree that runs up to one hundred percent. Because all alternatives are measured against the same reference, the ranking is stable and the gap to perfection is visible, though the result depends on the weights chosen.

MINIMUM ACTION

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Source support: Explicit