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| title | chunk | source | category | tags | date_saved | instance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Decision-making | 5/6 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decision-making | reference | science, encyclopedia | 2026-05-05T11:04:22.741043+00:00 | kb-cron |
=== Adults === Adults are generally better able to control their risk-taking because their cognitive-control system has matured enough to the point where it can control the socioemotional network, even in the context of high arousal or when psychosocial capacities are present. Also, adults are less likely to find themselves in situations that push them to do risky things. For example, teens are more likely to be around peers who peer pressure them into doing things, while adults are not as exposed to this sort of social setting.
== Cognitive and personal biases == Biases usually affects decision-making processes. They appear more when decision task has time pressure, is done under high stress and/or are highly complex. Here is a list of commonly debated biases in judgment and decision-making:
Selective search for evidence (also known as confirmation bias): People tend to be willing to gather facts that support certain conclusions but disregard other facts that support different conclusions. Individuals who are highly defensive in this manner show significantly greater left prefrontal cortex activity as measured by EEG than do less defensive individuals. Premature termination of search for evidence: People tend to accept the first alternative that looks like it might work. Cognitive inertia is the unwillingness to change existing thought patterns in the face of new circumstances. Selective perception: People actively screen out information that they do not think is important (see also Prejudice). In one demonstration of this effect, the discounting of arguments with which one disagrees (by judging them as untrue or irrelevant) was decreased by selective activation of the right prefrontal cortex. Wishful thinking is a tendency to want to see things in a certain – usually positive – light, which can distort perception and thinking. Choice-supportive bias occurs when people distort their memories of chosen and rejected options to make the chosen options seem more attractive. Recency: People tend to place more attention on more recent information and either ignore or forget more distant information (see Semantic priming). The opposite effect in the first set of data or other information is termed primacy effect. Repetition bias is a willingness to believe what one has been told most often and by the greatest number of different sources. Anchoring and adjustment: Decisions are unduly influenced by initial information that shapes our view of subsequent information. Groupthink is peer pressure to conform to the opinions held by the group. Source credibility bias is a tendency to reject a person's statement on the basis of a bias against the person, organization, or group to which the person belongs. People preferentially accept statements by others that they like (see also Prejudice). Incremental decision-making and escalating commitment: People look at a decision as a small step in a process, and this tends to perpetuate a series of similar decisions. This can be contrasted with zero-based decision-making (see Slippery slope). Attribution asymmetry: People tend to attribute their own success to internal factors, including abilities and talents, but explain their failures in terms of external factors such as bad luck. The reverse bias is shown when people explain others' success or failure. Role fulfillment is a tendency to conform to others' decision-making expectations. Underestimating uncertainty and the illusion of control: People tend to underestimate future uncertainty because of a tendency to believe they have more control over events than they really do. Framing bias: This is best avoided by increasing numeracy and presenting data in several formats (for example, using both absolute and relative scales). Sunk-cost fallacy is a specific type of framing effect that affects decision-making. It involves an individual making a decision about a current situation based on what they have previously invested in the situation. An example of this would be an individual who is refraining from dropping a class that they are most likely to fail, due to the fact that they feel as though they have done so much work in the course thus far. Prospect theory involves the idea that when faced with a decision-making event, an individual is more likely to take on a risk when evaluating potential losses, and is more likely to avoid risks when evaluating potential gains. This can influence one's decision-making depending if the situation entails a threat or opportunity. Optimism bias is a tendency to overestimate the likelihood of positive events occurring in the future and underestimate the likelihood of negative life events. Such biased expectations are generated and maintained in the face of counter-evidence through a tendency to discount undesirable information. An optimism bias can alter risk perception and decision-making in many domains, ranging from finance to health. Reference class forecasting was developed to eliminate or reduce cognitive biases in decision-making.
== Cognitive limitations in groups ==
In groups, people generate decisions through active and complex processes. One method consists of three steps: initial preferences are expressed by members; the members of the group then gather and share information concerning those preferences; finally, the members combine their views and make a single choice about how to face the problem. Although these steps are relatively ordinary, judgements are often distorted by cognitive and motivational biases, including "sins of commission", "sins of omission", and "sins of imprecision".
== Cognitive styles ==
=== Optimizing vs. satisficing ===
Herbert A. Simon coined the phrase "bounded rationality" to express the idea that human decision-making is limited by available information, available time and the mind's information-processing ability. Further psychological research has identified individual differences between two cognitive styles: maximizers try to make an optimal decision, whereas satisficers simply try to find a solution that is "good enough". Maximizers tend to take longer to make decisions due to the need to maximize performance across all variables and make tradeoffs carefully; they also tend to more often regret their decisions (perhaps because they are more able than satisficers to recognize that a decision turned out to be sub-optimal).
=== Intuitive vs. rational ===