Becoming a better decision maker
- 1 July 1989
- journal article
- Published by Taylor & Francis in Australian Psychologist
- Vol. 24 (2) , 141-155
- https://doi.org/10.1080/00050068908259558
Abstract
Four views of human decision making are described, following Abelson & Levi (1985): the decision maker as corrigible rationalist (Edwards, 1954), as bounded rationalist (Simon, 1955), as error‐prone intuitive scientist (Tversky & Kahneman, 1974) and as slave to motivational forces (Janis & Mann, 1977). It is argued that both cognitive and motivational perspectives are important for an understanding of how people make major life choices. Cognitive and motivational factors are analysed in tracing age‐related changes during adolescence on nine indicators of competent decision making, namely choice, comprehension, creativity, compromise, consequentiality, correctness, credibility, consistency, and commitment. Cognitive and motivational factors are identified also in describing and evaluating the effectiveness of courses of instruction in decision making, such as the Gofer course for high school students.Keywords
This publication has 23 references indexed in Scilit:
- Effectiveness of the GOFER course in decision making for high school studentsJournal of Behavioral Decision Making, 1988
- Children's decision strategies and their adaptation to task characteristicsOrganizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 1985
- Minors' attitudes and competence toward participation in psychoeducational decisions.Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 1985
- Perspectives of children regarding their participation in psychoeducational decisions.Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 1983
- The Competency of Children and Adolescents to Make Informed Treatment DecisionsChild Development, 1982
- Improving Adolescent Decision-Making SkillsCurriculum Inquiry, 1981
- Task complexity and contingent processing in decision making: An information search and protocol analysisOrganizational Behavior and Human Performance, 1976
- Judgment under Uncertainty: Heuristics and BiasesScience, 1974
- A locus of control scale for children.Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 1973
- A Behavioral Model of Rational ChoiceThe Quarterly Journal of Economics, 1955