IRRATIONAL DECISION-MAKING: A CRITICAL EXAMINATION OF ITS EFFECTS ON GOVERNANCE AND POLICY
Keywords:
Irrational decision-making, cognitive biases, policy formulationAbstract
Irrational decision-making, driven by cognitive biases, emotional influences, and heuristic shortcuts, often undermines sound governance and effective policy formulation. This study critically examines the pervasive impact of irrationality in political and governmental decision-making processes, exploring how leaders and policymakers sometimes make choices that diverge from logical reasoning, leading to suboptimal outcomes. Through a review of case studies and theoretical frameworks, the research identifies the key psychological factors that contribute to irrational decision-making, such as overconfidence, groupthink, and loss aversion. Furthermore, it investigates the implications of these cognitive distortions for policy effectiveness, public trust, and societal development. The paper concludes by proposing strategies to mitigate irrational influences in governance, including fostering better decision-making frameworks, promoting accountability, and encouraging deliberative decision-making processes.
Downloads
References
Armstrong, M. (2005). How to be an Even Better Manager (Revised Edition). London: Kegan Paul.
Daft, R. L. (2000). Management. Harcourt: Dryden Press.
Etzioni, A. (1961). Modern Organization. New York: Eaglewood Cliffs
Etzioni, A. (1964). Comparative Analysis of Complex Organizations. New York: Eaglewood Cliffs.
Lindblom, C. E. (1959). The Science of Modelling Through. Public Administration Review, 19, 79-99.
Lindblom, C. E. (1980). The Policy Making Process (2nd Ed.). New York: Prentice Hall.
Kahneman, D. (2011). Thinking, fast and slow. Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Tversky, A., & Kahneman, D. (1974). Judgment under uncertainty: Heuristics and biases. Science, 185(4157), 1124-1131.
Ariely, D. (2009). Predictably irrational: The hidden forces that shape our decisions. HarperCollins.
Thaler, R. H., & Sunstein, C. R. (2009). Nudge: Improving decisions about health, wealth, and happiness. Penguin.
Loewenstein, G., Rick, S., & Cohen, J. D. (2008). Neuroeconomics. Annual Review of Psychology, 59, 647-672.
Gigerenzer,G., Todd, P. M., & the ABC Research Group. (1999). Simple heuristics that make us smart. Oxford University Press.
Bazerman, M. H., & Moore, D. A. (2013). Judgment in managerial decision making. John Wiley & Sons
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 Akanke Bello

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
All content published in the Journal of Applied Science and Social Science (JASSS) is protected by copyright. Authors retain the copyright to their work, and grant JASSS the right to publish the work under a Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). This license allows others to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the work, even commercially, as long as they credit the author(s) for the original creation.