There exists a sizeable literature-descriptive and normative-related to decision making. perhaps the most prominent assumption in this body of literature is that decision makers are rational. Among scholars working in this arena, decision makera are understood to vary with respect to their beliefs, opinions, and preferences, but rationality deals with the notion that these should cohere in a defensible fashion (Shafir and LeBoeuf, 2002). this explanation complements the assertion by Eisenhardt and Zbaracki (1992, p. 18) that "In its most basic form the rational model of choice follows the everyday assumption that human behavior has some purpose." Summarizing the decision-making literature and the role of rationality, Shafir and LeBoeuf (2002, p. 492) suggest that "the rationality assumption has come to constitute perhaps the most common and pivotal assumtion underlying theoretical accounts of human behavior in various disciplines.