Straight Choices ― The Psychology of Decision Making

We all face a perplexing array of decisions every day. Straight Choices, 2nd Edition provides an integrative account of the psychology of decision making, in which clear connections are made between empirical results and how these results can help us to understand our uncertain world.

Throughout the text, there is an emphasis on the relationship between learning and decision making. The authors argue that the best way to understand how and why decisions are made is in the context of the learning and knowledge acquisition that precedes them and the feedback that follows them. The mechanisms of learning and the structure of environments in which decisions are made are carefully examined to explore the ways in which they act on our choices. From this, the authors go on to consider whether we are all constrained to fall prey to biases or whether with sufficient exposure can we find optimal decision strategies and improve our decision making.

New to this edition:

• A brand new chapter on decisions from experience
• New student-friendly features, such as chapter highlights and further reading
• All chapters updated with the latest research-findings.

Straight Choices, 2nd Edition integrates findings from the decision and learning literatures to provide a unique perspective on the psychology of decision making. It will be of interest to researchers and advanced students in cognitive psychology, as well as those in business, economics and philosophy interested in the nature of decision making.

Ben Newell is a Professor of Cognitive Psychology and an Australian Research Council Future Fellow in the School of Psychology at the University of New South Wales, Australia

David Lagnado is Senior Lecturer in Cognitive and Decision Sciences in the Division of Psychology and Language Sciences at University College London, UK.

David Shanks is Head of the Division of Psychology and Language Sciences, and Professor of Psychology, at University College London, UK.