Normative - Affective Factors toward a New Decision - Making Model *

The author outlines a radically dfferent decision-making model form the one widely used in Economics and in Psychology. Accordingly, most choices are made on the basis of emotional involvements and value commitments. Information processing is often excluded. In other areas of choices, emotions and values allow for some subsets of options to be rationally considered but ‘color’ them and/or short cut the deliberations. In a still other subset emotion/values require rational decision-malung. Emotions and values are not necessarily disruptive; they have positive functions. Cognitivists’ objections to the concept of emotions are responded to. Problems of operationalization are raised. The question, if the concepts of emotions and values can be incorporated into the neoclassical paradigm, is explored.