If you're like me, you've probably wondered why people sometimes have trouble making decisions as individuals or in groups. Group dynamics are of great interest to me and equally intriguing is individual behavior that seems to be fueled by fear or acceptance of life/opportunities. Unfortunately, you will find that in some groups, people move towards a life based on fear. That being said, this is a short list of behavioral terms that psychologists/scientists use to describe what happens with people when they make decisions. This is part of the research I did. When you're having a bad day because someone did something that didn't make sense or "the group" is strange, perhaps one of these terms will bring you some short-term comfort. Humans seem to do the same things over and over again – they just give them different names. Adjustment heuristic – When people tend to rely on specific information or value and may focus so much on that that they ignore other valuable information. For example, an individual may consider purchasing an enterprise application and focus so much on its initial price that they ignore its performance or ROI. Availability heuristic – People predict the probability of an event based on how easily an example comes to mind. instead of the actual statistical probability. For example, if a friend of mine buys a specific car and I hear his harrowing story about the gas line breaking, I ignore all other data and his story becomes my representative of the whole rather than just one example. In short, the buyer is ignoring data that might indicate that this particular car is the safest on the road from a statistical standpoint. Limited Consciousness – When people fail to... middle of paper...... to them without weapons. Whether they know it or not, they are constantly struggling with aspects of these issues. Marketing must remain an active participant in helping sellers help the buyer navigate their way to a superior decision. The supplier must understand these influences on the buyer's decision making. Certain psychological and social influences can override providers' best efforts to help buyers. By anticipating them, the supplier can create the appropriate response to keep the buyer on track. As there seems to be too much information in the world, humans have found shortcuts to speed up decision-making. The role of the service provider is to help the buyer use their critical thinking when they are tempted to act too quickly. The service provider must also take into account the emotional side of the buyer to ease their trust issues...