Decision Making (What)

Decision making is when an actor chooses to believe something or do something (take an action or not take an action).

Here are the main ideas.

Actor

An actor is a person or a group. Both make decisions.

Decision

A decision is a choice between two or more alternatives.

Belief

A belief is something that an actor regards as “the way things are”; what is true, false, unknown, and so on.

Action

An action is something that an actor does.

Note: Decision making is complex, nuanced, and contextual. It is strongly influenced by multiple interacting factors: emotions, feelings, social factors, surrounding circumstances, the relationships between beliefs and actions, and so forth. However, all decisions involve choosing what to believe and what actions to take.

Automatic and Deliberate Decisions

Animals and people constantly make decisions. Some are deliberate and many are automatic.

Automatic decisions are those done with little or no conscious awareness. These automatic decisions are usually based on instinct, habit, or learned behavior, allowing individuals to respond quickly to their environment. For example, animals rely on instinctive responses to avoid predators, while humans might follow daily routines without much thought. This type of decision-making is efficient and allows for swift reactions, essential for survival and managing everyday tasks.

Deliberate decisions are those in which individuals consciously weigh options, consider potential outcomes, and ultimately make a choice. These decisions often require mental effort, analysis, and evaluation. Unlike automatic decisions, deliberate decisions are typically made for important matters that require careful consideration. For instance, choosing a career path, selecting a home, or making a significant financial investment involves deliberate decision-making. This type of decision-making allows for greater control and often leads to more thoughtful and informed choices.

Decision Making (How)

All decisions, whether automatic or deliberate, ultimately involve the brain. Here’s why:

• Automatic Decisions: Even though these decisions seem instantaneous and unconscious, they are still processed by the brain. Our brains have learned patterns and responses through experience and repetition. When faced with familiar situations, the brain quickly activates these pre-established neural pathways, leading to automatic actions.

• Deliberate Decisions: These decisions require conscious thought and analysis, which are core functions of the brain. The prefrontal cortex, in particular, is involved in weighing options, considering consequences, and making choices.

Summary: Whether a decision is quick and instinctive or slow and thoughtful, it always involves neural activity within the brain.

Effective Decision Making (How To)

1. Recognize that all decision making is a natural brain function.

2. Recognize that humans sometimes make decisions that are not ideal.

   1. Suboptimal choices
   2. Believing falsehoods
   3. Bad choices
   4. Influences of multiple biases
   5. Social influences
   6. Context (surrounding circumstances)

3. Make a life choice to prioritize “best choices”

   1. The best choice is defined as the one that maximizes your rewards and minimizes your drawbacks in a holistic sense.
   2. This life choice is like choosing to act in an ethical manner; it is not easy to do.

4. When your decisions are important enough to merit a “deliberate decision”, make it with the method called “Critical Thinking” (CT).

   1. CT reflects humankind’s best approach for purposeful decision making.