NCJ Number
144745
Journal
Police Studies Volume: 16 Issue: 2 Dated: (Summer 1993) Pages: 71-75
Date Published
1993
Length
5 pages
Annotation
The haste intrinsic in an emergency decision often influences the outcome, and that decision is frequently the sole responsibility of the individual police officer.
Abstract
Facing this situation, the Cusp Decision-Making Catastrophe Model may explain the decisionmaker's rational or irrational behavior. The model has two control variables, decision conflict and information sufficiency, that determine whether a decision is rational. The model incorporates "active search for solution" to refer to rational decision behavior and "avoid justification" to refer to irrational decision behavior. Decisionmaking is viewed as a rational cognitive process in which a choice is made among several alternatives. For the police, emergency decisionmaking always has the following common characteristics: the decisionmaker is on the scene; the decision has great influence; the decisionmaker has little time; and the decision is made only by the police officer. The Cusp Decision-Making Catastrophe Model's greatest advantage is that it can illustrate the transmission process from rational to irrational decisionmaking and use the control variables, decision conflict and information sufficiency, to keep decision behavior in the rational state during an emergency. Factors associated with rational decisionmaking are examined, and elements of catastrophe theory are described to provide a coherent modeling framework. 14 references, 1 table, and 2 figures