The so-called rational choice model of decision making does not reflect how people actually make decisions. It is nonetheless regarded as a good model for how people should make decisions, including organizationally relevant decisions. It therefore provides the basis for interventions aimed at improving decision making. Because of space constraints, the focus of this entry is on one contemporary form of the model, the weighted additive expected utility model, which arguably has the most applications to industrial and organizational psychology.

The Weighted Additive Expected Utility Model

A decision reflects a choice among several alternatives (options). In the weighted additive expected utility model, each alternative is compared along multiple attributes (dimensions or factors) in an attempt to maximize “utility.” Specifically, a decision maker using this model (a) judges ...

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