Symposium on Alternative Approaches to the Theory of Choice: A Stochastic Model For the Act of Choice

Publisher Summary This chapter provides a stochastic model for the act of choices. An early proposition states that the basic unit of observation in psychology is a single act of choice by a given subject. The earlier formulated proposition is not intended to imply that a given choice act is not capable of finer empirical analysis; and in this chapter; the possible ways of carrying out such an enterprise is discussed. A whole sequence of temporally discrete acts by an individual may not together constitute a meaningful unit for the descriptive summary of behavior. The point of the remark is that in the search for an understanding of the organization of behavior, the experimental study of this organization requires it to be approached by means of some act of choice on the part of the experimental subject. As an illustration of the role played by acts of choice in experimentation, two studies by Shipley and collaborators seem apposite. When theoretical propositions are formulated concerning any kind of behavior, it is necessary to include hypotheses concerning the nature of the processes of choice.