Contents -- Preface -- Some Personal Reflections on Writing This Book -- The Author's Qualifications to Write a Book Like This One -- Interchange Among the Social and Decision Sciences -- The History of the Book -- Please Enjoy It -- Note -- Overview of Business Psychology -- The Book's Purpose -- Life Is Complicated -- The Outline of the Book -- The Book in a Nutshell -- PART I WANTS, ABILITIES, AND GOALS -- Chapter 1 Tastes, Preferences, Wants, and Values -- Brief Outline -- What Do You Want? -- What Are We Talking About Here? -- The Basics of Understanding Desires -- Some Useful Tactics for Sorting Out Desires -- Tastes Are Tricky -- You May Wish to Increase Your Desires Rather Than Satisfy Them -- Analyzing the Aims of Organizations -- Notes -- Chapter 2 Assessing Your Resources -- Brief Outline -- What Do You Have Going for You? -- The Past Influences the Present -- Taking Stock of Your Resources -- Notes -- Chapter 3 Choosing Goals and Criteria of Success -- Brief Outline -- The Inputs Used in Setting Goals -- The Benefits of Wise Goal Selection -- The Benefits of Setting Goals -- The Goal-Setting Process -- Summary -- Note -- PART II INTRODUCTION TO EVALUATIVE THINKING -- Brief Outline -- What Is in Part II? -- The Role of Comparison -- What Is Cost-Benefit Analysis? -- The Limits of Cost-Benefit Analysis: To What Is It Applicable? -- The Steps in a Cost-Benefit Analysis -- When to Use Cost-Benefit Analysis, and What You Get Out of It -- Exercise -- Notes -- Chapter 4 Evaluating Simple Alternatives -- How to Price What You Sell -- How Many Alternatives to Consider -- Combination Alternatives -- Exercises -- Notes -- Chapter 5 Weighing Present Versus Future Benefits (and Costs) -- Brief Outline -- The Concept of Discounting for Time -- Rent Versus Buy (Zero Salvage Value) -- How Sharply Should You Discount Future Events? -- Summary.

Additional Reading -- Exercises -- Notes -- Chapter 6 How to Think About Cost -- Brief Outline -- Nonbusiness Costs -- Opportunity Cost -- Nonmonetary Costs Other Than Time -- Chapter 7 Allowing for Uncertainty -- Brief Outline -- The Concept of Probability -- Allowing for Uncertainty When Comparing Alternatives -- Chapter 8 Dealing With Risks -- Brief Outline -- Understanding Insurance (and Gambling) -- Possible Criteria for Assessing Risk -- Risk in a Business Setting -- Summary -- Chapter 9 Reconciling Multiple Goals -- Brief Outline -- Try to Proceed Between the Horns of the Dilemma -- When You Really Must Choose Among Goals -- When You Really Must Choose Among Goals -- Summary -- Note -- PART III GETTING USEFUL IDEAS AND KNOWLEDGE -- Brief Outline -- Three Kinds of Knowledge -- The Relative Smallness of Any Person's Knowledge -- Start by Immersing Yourself in the Raw Facts -- Obtaining the Various Sorts of Knowledge -- Chapter 10 Getting and Eliminating Ideas -- Brief Outline -- How to Get Ideas -- Eliminating Ideas -- Notes -- Chapter 11 Experts, Expert Systems, and Libraries -- Experts -- Expert Systems -- Libraries -- Summary -- Notes -- Chapter 12 Using Scientific Discipline to Obtain Information -- Brief Outline -- Who Needs Science? -- Conditions That Require the Discipline of Science -- Steps in a Scientific Investigation -- Summary -- Notes -- Chapter 13 Assessing Consequences and Likelihoods -- Brief Outline -- Range of Procedures That Can Help You Make Estimates -- Some Principles for Estimating Costs and Benefits -- Estimating Probabilities -- Summary -- Exercises -- Notes -- PART IV WORKING WITH INFORMATION AND KNOWLEDGE -- Chapter 14 Pitfalls That Entrap Our Thinking -- Brief Outline -- Two Helpful Tactics -- The Main Types of Pitfalls and Fallacies -- The Classical Logical Pitfalls -- Pitfalls in Dealing With Information.

Fallacies in the Way We Use Language -- Summary -- Notes -- Chapter 15 My Favorite Worst Sources of Errors -- Summary -- Notes -- Chapter 16 Good Judgment -- Chapter 17 Self-Discipline and Habits of Thought -- Brief Outline -- Necessary Values, Norms, and Ethics for Social Functioning -- Notes -- Chapter 18 Dealing With People, and Managing Them -- Infrequent Relationships: Negotiation -- The Art and Science of Negotiation -- Ongoing Relationships -- Notes -- Index -- About the Author.