Cognitive Scaffold

Preparing your thinking workspace

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MENTAL MODEL · M7478

TOPSIS

TOPSIS
DecideHigh supportDecision Science
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Version 1.0.0 · Updated 2026-07-30

CORE DEFINITION

Calculate the distance of each alternative from the 'ideal best solution' and the 'ideal worst solution', and select the alternative that is closest to the best and farthest from the worst.

SCAFFOLDING EFFECT

psychology

Reduce cognitive load

Bidirectional anchoring. It pursues closeness to the best while ensuring distance from the worst, which is more robust than simply pursuing the optimal.

anchor

Anchor fast decisions

In the normalized weighted space, construct the positive ideal solution (PIS) and negative ideal solution (NIS), calculate the Euclidean distances from each alternative to both, and rank by relative closeness C∈[0,1]; balancing 'close to the best + far from the worst' is more robust.

MINIMUM ACTION

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Practice this model in one real situation:

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Source support: Explicit

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