Introduction
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 01 March 2011
Summary
The papers in this volume are organized according to a few guiding principles.
The first dichotomy is between theory (20 papers) and application (8 papers).
Within the domain of theory we organized the papers into the following trichotomy:
(a) conceptions of choice (9 papers)
(b) beliefs and judgments about uncertainties (4 papers)
(c) values and utilities (7 papers)
Within each of these categories we arranged the papers according to the following sequence:
(a) decisions people make and how they decide
(b) logically consistent decision procedures and proposals of how people should decide
(c) behavioral objections to normative proposals
(d) how to help people to make better decisions in the light of behavioral realities and normative ideals
(e) how to train people to make better decisions, for example, by providing heuristics and, possibly, therapy
This sequence is motivated and elaborated in the overview paper by the editors (chapter 1).
In the application section, the papers are arranged by fields: economics, management, education, and medicine.
We, the organizers of this conference and its proceedings, in discussions among ourselves about our domain of concern – individual decision making under uncertainty – have found the following taxonomy helpful:
Descriptive
Decisions people make
How people decide
Normative
Logically consistent decision procedures
How people should decide
Prescriptive
How to help people to make good decisions
How to train people to make better decisions
Observe that we have moved from the usual dichotomy (descriptive and normative) to a trichotomy by adding a “prescriptive” category.
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- Decision MakingDescriptive, Normative, and Prescriptive Interactions, pp. 1 - 6Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 1988
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