Than certain of our knowledge, the better we studied the situation, the right decision, the lower the risk. Knowingly service information acquired in the market economy paramount importance. "Mechanism" of the process to select one of the alternatives to solve the problem associated with the risk being studied psychology. There are two main theories of this choice. First, the so-called cognitive theory, which adheres to most psychologists today, comes from the fact that choice is made by man consciously, on the basis of a system of rules – an algorithm for solving. Second, the so-called behavioral theory holds that selection is done automatically, in accordance with previously incurred by the person associations between stimuli and responses – the type of conditioned reflex. In favor of the prevailing values of the cognitive theory says that man is regarded as an active entity, independently creates the problem and draw up rules for its solution depends on the goals. However, in behavioral the theory is there a certain rational element – tracing the connection between past experiences and actions in a situation containing risk.
This is especially important for operations in extreme conditions, when the reflection can not have time. System of rules which people use in selecting an alternative, called the strategy. The presence of certain rules in the decision-maker, risking is the result of learning process. They can be very different quality. Strategies to the most extent possible to approach this goal are called optimal. The presence of an optimal strategy, however, not yet means that the problem will be solved well. In addition to efficiency, each strategy has a certain difficulty in implementation. Just as knowledge of the rules and the best ways of playing chess is not guarantee of success, an effective strategy does not mean yet that it can be successfully applied. Of no less importance is the art of making the right decisions, with a risk.