Abstract
Decision making is concerned with evaluating and/or ranking possible alternatives of action. In this paper, we develop a model for the process of decision making. Understanding the decision process can provide insights into how humans make decisions, understand their decision making approaches, and how they differ from each other. We believe that decision makers who are conscious of their decision process types can make more effective and balanced decisions. In this paper, we present a new decision process model based on the following four dimensions where each dimension is defined by two opposing types: Information Processing (Concrete and Abstract), Alternative Generation (Adaptive and Constructive), Alternative Evaluation (Moderate and Bold), and Decision Closure (Organized and Flexible). Furthermore, an approach for assessing each of the four decision process types by a mathematical function is presented. In a much boarder scope than decision making, these assessed functions can be used to evaluate and rank alternatives. The decision process model can also be used in conjunction with multiple criteria decision making and multiple objective optimization. The model can also be used to explain the reasons that the classical decision making models fail to describe real decision makers’ behavior, and mistakenly label such behavior as irrational. The proposed decision process model can be used for developing new behavioral, rational, and intelligent decision making theories and approaches. Extensions of this work may include group decision making, organizational decision making, team formation, and risk behavior analysis. Experimental results of over four hundred engineering students are reported. A web site has been developed for users (http://car.cwru.edu/decision/).
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Adams J. (1995) Risk. UCL Press, London
Ansell, J., Wharton, F. (eds) (1992) Risk analysis, assessment and management. Wiley, Chichester
Arrow K. J. (1971) Essays on the theory of risk-bearing. Markham Publishing Company, Chicago
Azuma, R., Daily. M., & Furmanski. C. (2006). A review of time critical decision making models and human cognitive processes. In Aerospace Conference 2006 IEEE, March 2006, pp. 4–11.
Bell D. E. (1983) Risk premiums for decision regret. Management Science 29(10): 1156–1166
Bergquist, W. H., Phillips, S. R. (eds) (1975) A handbook for faculty development, Vol. 1. Council for the Advancement of Small Colleges, Washington, DC
Betsch C., Kunz J. J. (2008) Individual strategy preferences and decisional fit. Journal of Behavioral Decision Making 21: 532–555
Böhm G., Brun W. (2008) Intuition and affect in risk perception and decision making. Judgment and Decision Making 3(1): 1–4
Chan F. T. S., Chung S. H., Choy K. L. (2006) Optimization of order fulfillment in distribution network problems. Journal of Intelligent Manufacturing 17: 307–319
Chandrasekaran, B. (2007). Multi-criterial decision-making and the cognitive architecture of problem solving. In Computational Intelligence in Multicriteria Decision Making, IEEE Symposium on, No. 1–5, Apr 2007, pp. 235–235.
Cloninger C. R. et al. (1991) The tridimensional personality questionnaire: U.S. normative data. Psychological Reports 69: 1047–1057
Cloninger C. R. (1994) Temperament and personality. Current Opinion in Neurobiology 4(2): 266–273
Dagdeviren M. (2008) Decision making in equipment selection: An integrated approach with AHP and PROMETHEE. Journal of Intelligent Manufacturing 19(4): 397–406
Endsley M. R., Hoffman R., Kaber D., Roth E. (2007) Cognitive engineering and decision making: An overview and future course. Journal of Cognitive Engineering and Decision Making 1(1): 1–21
Felder R., Soloman M., & Barbara A. (2000). “Learning styles and strategies.” Online article. http://www.crc4mse.org/ILS/ILS_explained.html, 2000, Dec 15
Ferrari J. R., Dovidio J. F. (2000) Examining behavioral processes in indecision: Decisional procrastination and decision-making style. Journal of Research in Personality 34: 127–137
Friedman M., Savage L. J. (1948) The utility analysis of choices involving risk. Journal of Political Economy 56(4): 279–304
Galotti K. M. (2001) Helps and hindrances for adolescents making important real-life decisions. Applied Developmental Psychology 22: 275–287
Gollier C., Lindsey J., Zeckhauser R. J. (1997) Investment flexibility and the acceptance of risk. Journal of Economic Theory 76: 219–241
Guang Y., Zhong Z. W., Ding Z (2004) Optimization of tool change timing in a nut forming process using genetic algorithms. Journal of Intelligent Manufacturing 15(5): 693–699
Haynes S.N., O’Brien W.H. (2007) Principles and practice of behavioral assessment, 1st edn. Springer, Berline
Hull R. F. C., Baynes H. G. (1990) Psychological types: C.G. Jung, 9th Edn. Princeton University Press, Kluwer/Plenum Academic Publishers, Princeton, NJ
Kahneman D., Tversky A. (1979) Prospect theory: An analysis of decision under risk. Econometrica 47(2): 263–291
Kaneko M., Suzuki N. (2001) Bounded interpersonal inferences and decision making. Economic Theory 19: 63–103
Keeney R.L., Raiffa H. (1993) Decisions with multiple objectives: Preferences and value tradeoffs. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
Keirsey D. (1998) Please understand me II: Temperament, character, intelligence. Del Mar, CA, Prometheus Nemesis
Kim C. N., Yang K. H., Kim J. (2008) Human decision-making behavior and modeling effects. Decision Support Systems 45(3): 517–527
Kolb D. (1984) Eperiential learning: Experience as the source of learning and development. Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ
Kroeger O., & Thuesen J. M. (2002). Type talk at work: How the 16 personality types determine your success on the job. Delta; Revised edition, July 30, 2002.
Kull T. J., Talluri S. (2008) A supply risk reduction model using integrated multicriteria decision making. IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management 55(3): 409–419
Leonard N. H., Scholl R. W., Kowalski K. B. (1999) Information processing style and decision making. Journal of Organizational Behavior 20: 407–420
Loo R. (2000) A psychometric evaluation of the general decision-making style Inventory. Personality and Individual Differences 29: 895–905
Lopes L. L. (1997) Between hope and fear: The psychology of risk. In: Goldstein W. M., Hogarth R. M. (eds) Research of judgement and decision making. Cambridge Press, New York, pp 681–717
Maggini C., Ampollini P., Marchesi C., Gariboldi S., Cloninger C. R. (2000) Relationships between tridimensional personality questionnaire dimensions and DSM-III-R personality traits in Italian adolescents. Comprehensive Psychiatry 41(6): 426–431
Malakooti B., Zhou Y. (1994) An adaptive feedforward artificial neural network with application to multiple criteria decision making. Management Science 40(11): 1542–1561
Malakooti B., Zhou Y., Tandler E. C. (1995) In-process regressions and adaptive neural networks for monitoring and Supervising machining operations. Journal of Intelligent Manufacturing 6: 53–66
Malakooti B., Raman V. (2000a) An interactive multi-objective artificial neural network approach for machine setup optimization. Journal of Intelligent Manufacturing 11(1): 41–50
Malakooti B., Raman V. (2000b) Clustering and selection of multiple criteria alternatives using unsupervised and supervised neural networks. Journal of Intelligent Manufacturing 11(5): 435–451
McClelland D. (1961) The achieving society. The Free Press, New York
Miller C. C. (2008) Decisional comprehensiveness and firm performance: Towards a more complete understanding. Journal of Behavioral Decision Making 21: 598–620
Myers, I. (1962). The Myers-briggs type indicator, 1962.
Neumann, J. V., & Morgenstern, O. (2007). Theory of games and economic behavior. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press; 60 Anv. edn, Mar 19, 2007.
Parker A. M., Fischhoff B. (2005) Decision-making competence: External validation through an Individual-differences Approach. Journal of Behavioral Decision Making 18: 1–27
Power D.J., Sharda R. (2007) Model-driven decision support systems: Concepts and research directions. Decision Support Systems, Integrated Decision Support 43(3): 1044–1061
Pratt J.W. (1964) Risk aversion in the small and in the large. Econometrica 32(1/2): 122–136
Raiffa H. (1968) Decision analysis: Introductory lectures on choice under uncertainty. McGraw-Hill, New York
Silva F. (1993) Psychometric foundations and behavioral assessment. Sage Publications Inc., Newbury Park, CA
Smith C.W. Jr. (1995) Corporate risk management: Theory and practice. Journal of Derivatives 2: 21–30
Smith M. (1999) Gender, cognitive style, personality and management decision making. Management Accounting 7(77): 18–22
Tamura H. (2005) Behavioral models for complex decision analysis. European Journal of Operational Research 166(3): 655–665
Tang, J., Wang, X., Kaku, I., & Yung, K.-l. (2009). Optimization of parts scheduling in multiple cells considering intercell move using scatter search approach. Journal of Intelligent Manufacturing. doi:10.1007/s10845-008-0236-8.
Tchangani A. P. (2004) Decision-making with uncertain data: Bayesian linear programming approach. Journal of Intelligent Manufacturing 15: 17–27
Tsaousis I. (1999) The traits personality questionnaire (TPQue): A Greek measure for the five factor model. Personality and Individual Differences 26: 271–283
Tversky A., Kahneman D. (1981) The framing of decisions and the psychology of choice. Science 211: 453–458
Tversky, A., & Kahneman, D. (1986). Rational choice and the framing of decisions. The Journal of Business, 59, No. 4, Part 2: The Behavioral Foundations of Economic Theory, S251–S278.
Zeelenberg M. (1999) Anticipated regret, expected feedback and behavioral decision making. Journal of Behavioral Decision Making 12: 93–106
Zhang Q., Chen J. C. H., Chong P. P. (2004) Decision consolidation: Criteria weight determination using multiple preference formats. Decision Support Systems 38(2): 247–258
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Malakooti, B. Decision making process: typology, intelligence, and optimization. J Intell Manuf 23, 733–746 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10845-010-0424-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10845-010-0424-1