ABSTRACT
Shackle’s theory of expectations and the theory of games relate the behaviour of individuals to some extreme outcomes in the expectations to which this behaviour gives rise. The difference is in the provisions which the respective theories make for the selection of these outcomes. In Shackle’s theory the focus gain and focus loss are determined by the individuals’ subjective attitudes towards the possible pay-offs and degrees of potential surprise. They are those possible outcomes which attract most the individuals’ attention. In the theory of games, the outcomes are selected by a formula. They correspond to those strategies of the opponent which belong to the solution.
