Decisional Balance

Decision making was conceptualized by Janis and Mann (1977) as a decisional “balance sheet” of comparative potential gains and losses. Two decisional balance measures, the pros and the cons, have become critical constructs in the Transtheoretical model. The pros and cons combine to form a decisional “balance sheet” of comparative potential gains and losses. The balance between the pros and cons varies depending on which stage of change the individual is in.