Decision theory: the development of economic thinking from rationality to subjectivity

Abstract

The economic decision theory is directly associated with some assumptions widely known by economic theory, such as utility, rationality, maximization, risk analysis, it others. However, a more in-depth analysis of the development of economic thinking in decision theory shows that the assumptions described above were not always the motto of the studies that sought to understand decision-making behavior. In this sense, the objective of this article is to rescue the development of the theory of decision and its unfolding in the so-called behavioral economics. The result of this work suggests, that over the centuries, the theory of economic decision has moved between subjectivity and rationality as a way of explaining the individual's economic choice behavior.