Editing Decision theory (section)

{{Short description|Branch of applied probability theory}}
{{For|the [[positive economics|descriptive]] application of decision theory to modeling human behavior|Rational choice models}}{{Math topics TOC|exapnded=Relations}}
[[File:Jacques-Clément Wagrez - The Judgement of Paris, 1886.jpg|alt=Wagrez's "The Judgement of Paris": Paris, dressed in medieval livery and holding the apple of discord, chats with Athena, Aphrodite, and Hera.|thumb|The mythological [[Judgement of Paris]] required selecting from three incomparable alternatives (the [[Greek Goddess|goddesses]] shown).  ]]
'''Decision theory''' or the '''theory of rational choice''' is a branch of [[probability theory|probability]], [[economics]], and [[analytic philosophy]] that uses [[expected utility]] and [[probabilities|probability]] to model how individuals would behave [[Rationality|rationally]] under [[uncertainty]].<ref>{{cite web |website=Dictionary.com |url=https://www.dictionary.com/browse/decision-theory |title=Decision theory Definition and meaning |access-date=2022-04-02}}</ref><ref>Hansson, Sven Ove. "Decision theory: A brief introduction". (2005) Section 1.2: A truly interdisciplinary subject.</ref> It differs from the [[Cognitive science|cognitive]] and [[Behavioural sciences|behavioral sciences]] in that it is mainly [[Prescriptive economics|prescriptive]] and concerned with identifying [[optimal decision|optimal decisions]] for a [[rational agent]], rather than [[Descriptive economics|describing]] how people actually make decisions. Despite this, the field is important to the study of real human behavior by [[Social science|social scientists]], as it lays the foundations to [[Mathematical model|mathematically model]] and analyze individuals in fields such as [[sociology]], [[economics]], [[criminology]], [[cognitive science]], [[moral philosophy]] and [[political science]].{{cn|date=April 2025}}