The two camps on rationality

Publisher Summary Rationality is not a genuine term of scientific psychology but rather a concept of philosophy and economics. The most common and most relevant definition says that an action is rational if it is in line with the values and beliefs of the individual concerned; or more precisely, if it is logical or consistent as stated in a set of axioms. This definition specifies rational behavior normatively. Empirical research can study whether actual human behavior is rational in the sense that it obeys the norm. This chapter distinguishes two camps, one that points to the deficiency and one that argues for the efficiency of human judgment and decision. The members of the first camp—pessimists—claim that judgment and decision making under uncertainty often show systematic and serious errors because of in-built characteristics of the human cognitive system. The optimists of the other camp claim that judgment and decision are highly efficient and functional even in complex situations.