Decision-making

Decision-making is the process of selecting among alternatives under uncertainty or competing goals. It combines judgments about possible outcomes with preferences among them.

Expected utility theory: A framework that ranks choices by the probability-weighted utility of their possible outcomes. It models choices when outcomes are uncertain and preferences can be represented by utility.
Preference: A ranking of alternatives that expresses which outcomes or options an agent favors. Preferences encode the goals a decision is meant to serve.
Optimization: The mathematical process of finding the best solution according to a defined objective and constraints. Decision-making can settle for a satisfactory choice rather than maximize a single objective.
Decision theory: The formal study of choices among alternatives, including choices under uncertainty. It supplies mathematical frameworks for analyzing individual and institutional choices.
Decision fatigue: A decline in decision quality or willingness to choose after sustained demands to make choices. Repeated choices can consume attention and alter later decisions.
Bounded rationality: A theory that people make workable choices using limited information, time, and computational capacity. It explains why real choices often depart from exhaustive optimization.
Utility: A numerical representation of how desirable outcomes are to an agent or decision model. Utility gives a common scale for comparing consequences.
Judgment: The formation of an assessment or belief about a person, situation, or outcome. Judgments estimate facts and consequences; decisions select what to do.
Game theory: The mathematical study of strategic interactions in which outcomes depend on multiple decision-makers. Strategic choices must account for what other agents may choose.
Choice architecture: The design of how options are presented, which can influence choices without removing alternatives. Presentation and defaults can change decisions even when the options stay the same.

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