Sources of Power: How People Make Decisions (edition 1999)

Mentioned in Thinking Fast and Slow

US research psychologies; various universities; famous for his naturalistic decision making theory
Pros: interesting topic; unique angle; clear academic-writing style
Cons: applications are weak; theory building is arbitrary and obvious without justification; lack of linkages to related diciplines ( )

Amazon.com
Gary Klein studies decision-making in the field, tagging along with firefighters, standing by in intensive-care units, and watching chess masters play lightning-fast "blitz" games to learn how people make choices with time constraints, limited information, and changing goals. From this research, he and his associates have developed a theory of "naturalistic decision-making."
Sources of Power essentially lends the validity of scientific research to techniques that many of us use every day. There's intuition, which is based not on instantaneous insight but on the rapid (perhaps even subconscious) interpretation of perceptual cues. There's mental simulation, a finely honed method of visualization. There's storytelling and metaphor, which enable decision-makers to devise meaningful frameworks and compare their present situations to previous events. Nobody is born with an inherent mastery of these and other techniques, Klein tells us, but we are all born with the capability to develop, through experience, the skill sets experts call upon to make good decisions. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review
"Most studies of decision-making treat humans like rats in a laboratory. But Dr. Klein, a cognitive psychologist, spent a decade watching fire commanders, fighter pilots, paramedics, and others making split-second decisions on the job, and this book is a clear and engaging account of his findings."
-- Thomas Petzinger, Jr., The Wall Street Journal

http://12frogs.com/reading/reviews/2003/02/sources-of-power-how-people-make-deci... ( )