Judgment & Decision Making
judg-ment pronunciation: [juhj-muhnt]
noun
1. the ability to judge or form an opinion objectively, authoritatively, and wisely, especially in matters affecting action; good, sense; discretion
2. the forming of an opinion, estimate, notion or conclusion, as from circumstances presented to the mind
de-ci-sion mak-ing pronunciation: [dih-sizh-uhn mey-king]
noun
the mental processes (cognitive process) resulting in the selection of a course of action among several alternative scenarios. Every decision making process (should) produce a final choice. The output can be an action or an opinion of choice
…Processes of judgment and decision making are essential for an organism to psychologically reconstruct the world, make sense of it, and respond to it adaptively. Some judgments are concerned with value (utility) others with physical characteristics. Some judgments are absolute, others comparative. Decisions are concerned with preferences. Typically decisions entail actions. To say that “I decided that Joe was a better candidate for a job than Jane” makes little sense unless a job offer for Joe is forthcoming. Otherwise, comparisons linger at the level of judgment. Typically, judgments precede and enable decisions. - Krueger (2012), Social Judgment and Decision Making, p. vii)
