Elimination By Aspects

Elimination by aspects is a model of a decision making technique developed by Amos Tversky in the 1970s. When faced with multiple options this method first identifies a single attribute or feature that is most important to the decision maker. When an option doesn't meet the criteria or 'cutoff' for an attribute then it is eliminated from being a possibility. Different attributes and features are applied until a single 'best' option is left.

For example, you are going to buy a new car. Using the elimination by aspects model you would first identify the attribute which is most important to you: safety. The different car options are weighed against this issue and a few of the options are discarded as a possibility because their safety ratings are lower than you desire. The second most important attribute in a vehicle to you is gas mileage. You take each option and judge is based on the gas mileage and a few options are eliminated because they don't get very good gas mileage. The next attribute is price, then style, etc. Eventually you will be left with one option and this is the one that is best.