decision making

Meaning: Decision making is the cognitive process of choosing among alternatives. Dual-process accounts describe a fast, intuitive route that relies on heuristics (mental shortcuts) and a slower, deliberate route that weighs options step by step. An algorithm is a rule-based procedure that yields a correct answer when followed properly. Heuristics save effort and often give good-enough answers, but they can produce systematic errors.

On the MCAT: Expect a short vignette and a request to name the shortcut or bias. Availability heuristic: judging likelihood by how easily examples come to mind (fearing flying after a crash is in the news). Representativeness heuristic: judging by resemblance to a prototype while ignoring base rates. Framing: the same outcome described as a gain or a loss shifts choices. Other biases include overconfidence, confirmation bias, belief perseverance and hindsight bias. Some questions link the prefrontal cortex to judgment and planning.

Common confusion: A heuristic is not an algorithm. An algorithm is guaranteed to work if followed correctly, whereas a heuristic is fast but can fail. Availability depends on ease of recall; representativeness depends on similarity to a category. Decision making is also distinct from problem solving, which is finding a way past an obstacle to reach a goal.