ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book provides a general overview of topics related to decision theory and statistics. It explores some basic concepts in the field of decision theory, distinguishing between the normative and the descriptive approaches. The book outlines how a prescriptive approach may represent a satisfactory compromise to compound theoretical rules of rational behavior, which are fundamentals of normative decision theory, with empirical evidence that characterizes the descriptive decision theory. It discusses the relations between statistics and decision theory. The book provides a classification of decision theory according to the information available about the states of nature. It focuses on the essential elements of normative decision theory, whereas descriptive decision theory will be of no direct relevance, as it is the subject of specific disciplines, such as psychology, sociology and, in some respects, economics.
