Decisions are part of our everyday life ranging from what to eat for dinner to how to respond to someone’s snide comment. We all face choices—big and small—everyday. So, how do you decide? What drives you to choose one option over another? When you make a big decision, you most likely weigh pros and cons or visualize the effects of each choice. On the other hand, when you make smaller, last-minute decisions, you might rely more on a hunch or gut feeling to guide you. The decision might be so small that you don’t even realize you’re making a choice. Regardless, something affects your decision. 7 Self-Driven FactorsRecently, Rawhide’s Starr Academy added a new topic, Bullying, to the Life Skills course. Sponsored by Life Promotions, a local organization that instills hope in youth to pave the way for a better future, this course taught how to resist and stand up against bullying. The instructor, Anna, facilitated a discussion one day about 7 factors that affect our everyday decisions—even a bully’s decision to bully. She called them the 7 Ps.
Which is Most Important?Anna questioned the guys. Which of these is most important to you? Stop and think for a moment—which factor affects your decisions the most? Good or Bad?If you notice, all the questions in the 7 Ps list are self-focused. How will this decision affect me? As the classroom conversation continued, the guys began to realize the danger of the 7 Ps. They noticed that making a decision based on these 7 factors often leads to negative results. For example, in order to maintain popularity or gain power, you might choose to put down or bully someone else. 8 Spirit-Driven FactorsHow about a different set of decision-making factors altogether especially when it pertains to how we treat others? Anna brought up a new list that is more others-focused and less self-focused. She called them Fruits of the Spirit:
These factors encourage us to consider how our decisions affect others, and can lead to positive personal results as well. Although our human tendency is to focus on the immediate results of the 7 Ps, the 8 fruits of the Spirit bring lasting comfort. *Names changed to protect anonymity.Tell Us
This report supplies references and comments on literature that identifies human factors influencing decision making, particularly military decision making. The literature has been classified as follows (the classes are not mutually exclusive): features of human information processing; decision making models which are not mathematical models but rather are descriptive; non- personality factors influencing decision making; national characteristics influencing decision making; personality factors influencing decision making; decision making in a military organization. The decision maker is influenced by many factors both internal to the decision maker and external to him/her. The environmental context in which a decision is made makes it difficult to associate personality traits with specific decision making behavior. Internal factors that influence decision making include limited information processing and memory capabilities. These limitations can result in biases in processing information such as anchoring (undue weight for evidence supporting(the initial hypothesis) or recency (undue weight on more recent evidence). The limitations can also result in decision making heuristics. Training and experience can lessen the effects of limited information processing and memory capabilities. The first part of the report is a summary of the findings of the literature survey. This is followed by detailed endnotes concerning the references.
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From: Investigating key factors influencing decision-making in the design of buildings and places: A survey of stakeholders’ perception
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