Decision Making

The cognitive process of selecting a course of action from alternatives using preferences, evidence, constraints and anticipated consequences.

Source: Kahneman D. Maps of bounded rationality: psychology for behavioral economics. American Economic Review. 2003;93(5):1449-1475. doi:10.1257/000282803322655392.

Decision-making is a cognitive process, one of selecting a course of action from alternatives using preferences, evidence, constraints and anticipated consequences. It takes place in the mind of the chooser, weighing options rather than following a fixed rule. Being a cognitive process of choosing among alternatives is what decision-making is Because the process weighs what is wanted against what is known and what is possible, it can be shaped by how options are framed, which is why the presentation of choices receives so much attention.

Source: Kahneman D. Maps of bounded rationality: psychology for behavioral economics. American Economic Review. 2003;93(5):1449-1475. doi:10.1257/000282803322655392.

Decision-making selects a course of action from alternatives, choosing one option from among several available. The presence of alternatives is what gives the process something to decide between. Selecting from alternatives, drawing on preferences, evidence, constraints and anticipated consequences, is central to decision-making Because the process weighs what is wanted against what is known and what is possible, it can be shaped by how options are framed, which is why the presentation of choices receives so much attention.

Source: Kahneman D. Maps of bounded rationality: psychology for behavioral economics. American Economic Review. 2003;93(5):1449-1475. doi:10.1257/000282803322655392.

Decision-making draws on preferences, evidence, constraints and anticipated consequences to reach a choice, weighing what is wanted, what is known, what limits apply and what is likely to follow. These inputs shape which course of action is selected from the alternatives. Drawing on these considerations is how decision-making arrives at a decision Because the process weighs what is wanted against what is known and what is possible, it can be shaped by how options are framed, which is why the presentation of choices receives so much attention.

Source: Kahneman D. Maps of bounded rationality: psychology for behavioral economics. American Economic Review. 2003;93(5):1449-1475. doi:10.1257/000282803322655392.

Anticipated consequences play the role of one of the inputs decision-making weighs, since the process selects a course of action partly by considering what each alternative is expected to lead to. Looking ahead to likely outcomes helps distinguish the options. This use of anticipated consequences, alongside preferences, evidence and constraints, is part of decision-making Because the process weighs what is wanted against what is known and what is possible, it can be shaped by how options are framed, which is why the presentation of choices receives so much attention.

Source: Kahneman D. Maps of bounded rationality: psychology for behavioral economics. American Economic Review. 2003;93(5):1449-1475. doi:10.1257/000282803322655392.

Decision-making is the cognitive process of selecting a course of action from alternatives using preferences, evidence, constraints and anticipated consequences, while active choice is a choice architecture approach that requires an individual to make an explicit selection rather than accept a default. Active choice compels the decision-making to be exercised rather than bypassed. The two are connected, since active choice forces a deliberate act of decision-making Because the process weighs what is wanted against what is known and what is possible, it can be shaped by how options are framed, which is why the presentation of choices receives so much attention.

Source: Kahneman D. Maps of bounded rationality: psychology for behavioral economics. American Economic Review. 2003;93(5):1449-1475. doi:10.1257/000282803322655392.