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Abstract

Another process critical to agentic action and, thus, causal agency, involves making a decision. Developmentally, the emergence of decision-making capacity occurs in early adolescence, on the heels of the development of problem-solving skills. Like problem solving, decision making is undertaken by agentic people in service of a goal. In this chapter, we explore in greater depth what is meant by the term decision (and by a decision-making process), how decision making is situated within SDT and Causal Agency Theory, and the relationship (again within SDT and Causal Agency Theory) between decision making and autonomy. The development of decision-making skills is discussed. The chapter concludes by discussing the decision-making process and autonomy-supportive interventions to promote more effective decision making.

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Correspondence to Michael L. Wehmeyer .

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Wehmeyer, M.L., Shogren, K.A. (2017). Decision Making. In: Wehmeyer, M., Shogren, K., Little, T., Lopez, S. (eds) Development of Self-Determination Through the Life-Course. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-024-1042-6_20

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