ABSTRACT
NaturalisticDecisionMaking(NDM)isarelativelynewmovementin decisionmakingresearchthatisstrugglingtodistinguishitselfasanewand fruitfulfieldofstudy(foradiscussionseeHowell,1997).Indoingso,thefieldis progressingthroughvariousphasesandexperiencinggrowingpainsasnew scientists,uponjoiningtheranks,grapplewiththeconcepts,theories, methodologiesandbiasesassociatedwiththefield.Asafieldofstudy(perhaps betterdescribedasacommunityofresearchers),thereisaconcernthatwebeclear inourconceptualizationofnaturalisticdecisionmaking(Klein,1997).Inarecent article,weattemptedtodojustthis;todefinetheboundariesofNDM(CannonBowers,Salas&Pruitt,1996).Inthischapter,wewillrefinetheargumentsand discussionsmadeinthatpreviousarticleaswellasextendthem.Weconcludethat thevalueoftheNDMmovementisitsfocusontheuseofexperiencebyhuman decisionmakersasopposedtoitfocusonfieldsettings.Wesupportour conclusioninpartbycomparingtheNDMmovementtosimilarmovementsthat haveoccurredinothercognitivefields(e.g.,memoryresearch).Tobeginour discussion,however,wefirstdescribewhatwebelieveisaparadigmshiftin decisionmakingresearch,froma"classical"toa"naturalistic"perspective, becauseithasanimpactonhowthefieldmightadvance.
