OKS Review, Vol. 3, No.1, EN, 1-14, March 2014 Available online – non-peer reviewed paper Correspondence: Antonis Gavalas © E-mail: gavalasresearch@yahoo.com 1 BRAIN PARSIMONY AND ITS EFFECT ON DECISION MAKING PROCESS Antonis Gavalas, MSc Review Paper The aim of this study is to make an interdisciplinary review on the principle of paƌsiŵoŶLJ aŶd the ǁaLJ it Đould possiďlLJ affeĐt huŵaŶs’ deĐisioŶ-making process. Parsimony is analysed as a scientific approach in evolutionary research, as well as an approach for interpreting cortical cognitive functioning. The study also reviews theories in decision-ŵakiŶg pƌoĐesses aŶd suggests the poteŶtial effeĐt of ďƌaiŶ’s paƌsiŵoŶLJ oŶ huŵaŶs’ deĐisioŶs. The ŵaiŶ hLJpothesis is that huŵaŶ ďƌaiŶ teŶds to saǀe eŶeƌgLJ, leading people to the use of standardized cognitive strategies, based on learned knowledge and experience, which is faster and cost effective, but it deteriorates deĐisioŶs’ ƋualitLJ, ďLJ Ŷot takiŶg Ŷeǁ iŶfoƌŵatioŶ uŶdeƌ adeƋuate ĐoŶsideƌatioŶ. It is concluded that people should be willing to dedicate time and effort (energy) in order to examine all the information and evaluate the alternatives before making a decision. Decision-making theories provide us with some useful techniques for increasing decision quality. Finally, some future studies are proposed for testing the hypotheses. The concept of parsimony in science Parsimony in science is choosing a theory that explains a phenomenon with the fewest possible assumptions, otherwise with less effort, less consumption of thinking (Epstein, 1984). A parsimonious theory is also one that can be generalised, and one that refers to observable facts, just because unobservables, namely concepts and ideas, require a greater thinking outlay (and thus energy) (Epstein, 1984). Behaviourists assert that a mechanistic, simpler, explanation of behaviour is more effective than complex cognitive theories (Epstein, 1984). However, human behaviour is not always conditional, depending on certain stimuli. Circumplex theory argues that each behaviour comes as a reaction to another behaviour, however as a possibility, not as a certainty (Markey et al., 2003). This implies that other factors may be processed by our brain before we react, factors that we fail to take into account. As Satpathy (2012) notes human behaviour is the product of more than one process which interact and, at times, compete. Probably this is why Epstein (1984) believes that parsimonious approach in science reflects our weakness in data processing. As science