Psychology of Human Thought

Abstract

Choice is ubiquitous, from small decisions such as whether to bring an umbrella to life-changing choices such as whether to get married. Making good decisions is a lifelong challenge. Psychologists have long been fascinated by the mechanisms that underlie human decision making. Why do different people make different decisions when offered the same choices? What are common decision making errors? Which choice option is the “best” and why? These questions are addressed in this chapter. We first outline models and theories of decision making, defining key concepts and terms. We then describe the psychological processes of decision makers and how these approaches can sometimes lead to systematic biases and fallacies. We touch on the related subject of judgment because of the close relationship with decision making in the literature.