Bounded Rationality and Medical Choices

Bounded Rationality and Medical Choices invites readers to explore the land of rationality. Traditional views of rationality tend to see decision makers as possessing superhuman powers of reason and absolute knowledge in taking decisions. To understand choices and decisions in the real world –as common medical decisions of laypersons-, we need a different, more psychologically plausible notion of rationality, and this book provides it. It is about fast and frugal heuristics--simple rules for making decisions when time is pressing and knowledge is scarce But when and how can such fast and frugal heuristics work? Can judgments based simply on one good reason be as accurate? Which are the information on which these heuristics work? This book explores these questions in the frame of medical choices and medical consultation. As an interdisciplinary work that is both useful and engaging, this book will appeal to a wide audience. It is ideal for researchers in cognitive psychology, health psychology, and cognitive science, as well as medical research and medical education.