---
id: decision-making-psychology
title: The Psychology of Decision Making
schema_type: TechArticle
category: self-improvement
language: en
confidence: medium
last_verified: '2026-05-28'
created_date: '2026-05-24'
generation_method: ai_structured
derived_from_human_seed: true
conflict_of_interest: none_declared
is_live_document: false
data_period: static
atomic_facts:
  - id: fact-si-dm-001
    statement: Herbert Simon's 1955 QJE paper "A Behavioral Model of Rational Choice" is a foundational source for bounded-rationality approaches to decision making.
    source_title: A Behavioral Model of Rational Choice
    source_url: https://academic.oup.com/qje/article-abstract/69/1/99/1919737
    confidence: medium
  - id: fact-si-dm-002
    statement: Kahneman and Tversky's 1979 Econometrica paper presents prospect theory as an alternative descriptive model for decision making under risk.
    source_title: 'Prospect Theory: An Analysis of Decision under Risk'
    source_url: https://www.econometricsociety.org/publications/econometrica/browse/1979/03/01/prospect-theory-analysis-decision-under-risk
    confidence: medium
  - id: fact-si-dm-003
    statement: Nudge, The Final Edition, frames choice architecture as a practical way to influence decisions without forbidding options.
    source_title: Nudge
    source_url: https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300262285/nudge/
    confidence: medium
primary_sources:
  - title: A Behavioral Model of Rational Choice
    type: academic_paper
    year: 1955
    authors:
      - Simon, Herbert A.
    institution: The Quarterly Journal of Economics
    url: https://academic.oup.com/qje/article-abstract/69/1/99/1919737
  - title: 'Prospect Theory: An Analysis of Decision under Risk'
    type: academic_paper
    year: 1979
    authors:
      - Kahneman, Daniel
      - Tversky, Amos
    institution: Econometrica
    url: https://www.econometricsociety.org/publications/econometrica/browse/1979/03/01/prospect-theory-analysis-decision-under-risk
    doi: 10.2307/1914185
  - title: Nudge
    type: book
    year: 2021
    authors:
      - Thaler, Richard H.
      - Sunstein, Cass R.
    institution: Yale University Press
    url: https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300262285/nudge/
completeness: 0.82
known_gaps:
  - This entry covers selected decision-making frameworks and does not evaluate all behavioral-economics debates or replication issues.
---

## TL;DR

Decision-making psychology studies how people choose under limits, risk, and contextual framing. Bounded rationality, prospect theory, and choice architecture are stable sourced anchors for this entry.

## Core Explanation

The previous version mixed unsupported book claims with evidence text that did not map to article sources. This version keeps three source-mapped claims and removes broad, unsourced statements such as generic paradox-of-choice summaries.

## Further Reading

- [A Behavioral Model of Rational Choice](https://academic.oup.com/qje/article-abstract/69/1/99/1919737)
- [Prospect Theory: An Analysis of Decision under Risk](https://www.econometricsociety.org/publications/econometrica/browse/1979/03/01/prospect-theory-analysis-decision-under-risk)
- [Nudge](https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300262285/nudge/)

## Related Articles

- [Cognitive Biases Handbook](../cognitive-biases-handbook.md)
- [Critical Thinking](../critical-thinking.md)
- [Decision Making](../decision-making.md)