Choice

A choice is the range of different things from which a being can choose. The arrival at a choice may incorporate motivators and models.

Freedom of choice is generally cherished, whereas a severely limited or artificially restricted choice can lead to discomfort with choosing, and possibly an unsatisfactory outcome. In contrast, a choice with excessively numerous options may lead to confusion, reduced satisfaction, regret of the alternatives not taken, and indifference in an unstructured existence; and the illusion that choosing an object or a course, necessarily leads to the control of that object or course, can cause psychological problems.

One can distinguish four or five main types of decisions, although they can be expressed in different ways. Brian Tracy breaks them down into:

A fifth type, however, (or fourth if "avoided" and "no-brainer" decisions are combined as one type), is the collaborative decision, made in consultation with, and by agreement of others. Collaborative Decision Making revolutionized air-traffic safety by not deferring to the captain when a lesser crew-member becomes aware of a problem.

Another way of looking at decisions focuses on the thought mechanism used - whether the decision is:

Recognizing that "type" is an imprecise term, an alternate way to classify types of choices is to look at outcomes and the impacted entity. For example, using this approach three types of choices might be:

Or politicians may choose to support or oppose options based on local, national, or international effects.

As a moral principle, decisions should be made by those most affected by the decision, but this is not normally applied to persons in jail, who might likely make a decision other than to remain in jail. Robert Gates cited this principle in allowing photographs of returning war-dead.