Decision making for wilderness leaders: strategies, traps and teaching methods

One of the more enduring beliefs about decision making is that if we think hard enough, and are rational and objective enough, we can make better choices. This advice works well when our decisions are clearly defined and time is plentiful. But in wilderness settings, our decisions are less clear and time is short, and the standard advice is not only cumbersome but, in some cases, dangerously misleading. In this paper, I’ll show why classical decision methods don’t always work, and I’ll review research findings from two emerging areas of decision science: heuristics and expertise. For each method, I’ll show how and when wilderness leaders can best apply them, and I’ll review strategies for teaching them to novice leaders *Author Address: 3363 S. Plaza Way, Salt Lake City, UT 84109; tel: 801-483-2310; email:[email protected] identify goals