Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society

Visual aids have been found to provide an unusually efficientmeans of risk communication for diverse and vulnerableindividuals facing high-stakes choices (e.g., health, finance,natural hazards). Research indicates the benefits of visual aidsfollow from scaffolding of cognitive and metacognitiveprocesses that enable independent evaluation andunderstanding of risk—i.e., risk literacy (see Skilled DecisionTheory; Cokely et al.,. 2012; in press). Here, we present a briefreview and progress report on the development of an onlineadaptive graph literacy tutor developed as part of theRiskLiteracy.org decision education platform. We begin witha brief review of theoretical foundations of the current tutorbased on graph comprehension theory. Next, we discuss keysteps in developing and validating our pseudo-intelligentadaptive tutor with emphasis on cognitive and psychometricitem analyses and transfer assessments (i.e., decision-makingbiases). Finally, we present recent changes in technicalimplementation of the RiskLiteracy.org platform (i.e., Pythonbased with a NoSQL database) that are designed to facilitateinteractive, yet brief (5 minute to 3 hour) and easier-to-developtraining and risk communication tutors. Discussion focuses onemerging opportunities including cognitive oriented usabilityanalyses that should help promote an effective, enjoyable, andinclusive user experience.