Thinking and Deciding

by Jonathan Baron

Overview

Thinking and Deciding has established itself as a required text and important reference work for students and scholars of human cognition and rationality. In this, the third edition, Jonathan Baron delves further into many of the key questions addressed in the previous editions. Baron has also revised or expanded his treatment of topics such as risk, utilitarianism, Baye's theorem, and moral thinking.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781107386303
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	10/22/2006
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Jonathan Baron is Professor of Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania. Baron's research is based on the utilitarian idea that society should be organized to do the most good (or to maximize utility). Some of his research examines people's intuitive principles for decision-making and moral judgement, and explores how these principles can stand in the way of doing the most good. Baron is the author of Rationality and Intelligence (1985); Thinking and Deciding (1988, 1994, 2000), a widely used textbook for advanced undergraduates and beyond; Morality and Rational Choice (1993), Judgement Misguided: Intuition and Error in Public Decision Making (1998); and Against Bioethics (2006). He has also co-edited three books and published over 175 papers and chapters. He is the editor of the journal Judgement and Decision Making, and he is currently president of the Society for Judgement and Decision Making. He holds a BA from Harvard and a PhD from Michigan and is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and of the American Psychological Society.

Table of Contents

Preface; Part I. Thinking in General: 1. What is thinking?; 2. The study of thinking; 3. Rationality; 4. Logic; Part II. Probability and Belief: 5. Normative theory of probability; 6. Descriptive theory of probability judgment; 7. Hypothesis testing; 8. Judgment of correlation and contingency; 9. Actively open-minded thinking; Part III. Decisions and Plans: 10. Normative theory of choice; 11. Description of choice under uncertainty; 12. Choice under certainty; 13. Utility measurement; 14. Decision analysis and values; 15. Quantitative judgment; 16. Moral judgement and choice; 17. Fairness and justice; 18. Social dilemmas; 19. Decisions about the future; 20. Risk.

Editorial Reviews

Baron has taken on the task of examining in detail the fill range and diversity ofpsychological research which helps him and us to understand the nature of thinking as he sees it, and to explore its application to teaching. It is a heroic effort, and thoroughly recommended.

Times Higher Education Supplement

When he wrote the first edition (1988), Baron (U. of Pennsylvania) intended to provide background for those who wanted to teach thinking and decision making in schools, and a text for an undergraduate psychology course. That and the second edition, however, were used for advanced and graduate courses and as a medical reference, so here he abandons early designs, and shifts the emphasis to decision making to be useful to researchers in medicine, business, public policy, and law. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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