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Decision making is selecting an action or option from alternatives, using available information, goals and anticipated consequences. A descriptive theory asks how choices occur; a normative rule specifies how choices should be evaluated under stated assumptions. Choosing quickly, choosing accurately and obtaining a desirable outcome are different criteria.

Consider an invented choice between four guaranteed points and a gamble paying ten points with probability $1/2$ and zero otherwise. The gamble's expected value iswhich exceeds four. Maximizing expected points selects the gamble, but that rule alone does not establish how a person evaluates risk or values the outcomes. The example states a criterion instead of treating one choice as an automatic error.

Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman demonstrated that preferences could change when equivalent decision problems were formulated differently.^[ref] A useful experimental comparison holds consequences constant while changing their presentation. A resulting choice difference challenges an explanation based only on the listed outcomes, while leaving further questions about comprehension, goals and representation to be tested.