 Today we are going to talk about suggested decision-making strategy. Since we have been talking about decision-making and we come to know that decision-making doesn't come into a minute or a second, we need to go to certain steps to achieve the process of decision-making. According to REST 1982, executing and implementing a plan of action involves some very important factors. Whenever we follow the process of decision-making, it doesn't happen all of a sudden. In fact, certain steps need to be achieved so that we can conclude a good decision. Figuring out the sequence of concrete actions. This is very important to see that how we are going to proceed in a certain manner. Because as long as we haven't made a plan, it would become very difficult for us that we don't know our own concrete steps on the first step, what we are going to do, then how we are going to proceed into the second step and then to the third and probably the fourth or the final one. Then working around impediments and unexpected difficulties. Whenever we are going to take any course of action, it is not possible that it should always run into a very smooth and in a very organized fashion. There come different impediments, there come different challenges, there come different opportunities as well. So we have to make some backup plan for that, that how we are going to overcome those difficulties and those challenges. Then overcoming fatigue and frustration, there comes the situation when we are fatigued, then we are going to go through different kind of problem areas and then at times we get up ourselves in frustration. So we have to see the backup plan for all these things as well. As a student of psychology, you all know that the effect of boredom is very adverse on our performance. So at times the mental health professional or a therapist who is going to work into a certain scenario, that too can be a victim of frustration, that there are no appropriate results of their therapy or they are facing a lot of challenges and the course of action they have planned is not successful. So there are a lot of negative psychological consequences that are possible. Then keeping sight of eventual goals. And during this process, we can never detrack our journey. We cannot see that it disperse and that we fall into different things, get frustrated, get boredom. The eventual goals that we have to reach, those decision-making strategies teach us that eventually we have to reach to that goal by using all the best solutions, whatever we have in our hand. Then resisting the distraction and other elements. Of course, when we go through a process, there are certain distractions as well. For example, you have designed a therapy and let's say you have scheduled a session already, from session 1 to 10, gradually you are going to go through certain achievements. But after the section 5 or 6, you feel that you are feeling unwell. Your client is not coming from the session to attend due to some family issue. So there is a break and because of that, all the process gets delayed. Such distractions can also be a challenge. Then others should undertake decision-making deliberately. The actual process can range from minutes to days or to weeks. When we are going to make the decision-making process fruitful or successful, to make it successful, to make it a good, possible, happening decision, whatever time it takes, it is not possible to say anything about it. Maybe we should quickly conclude a decision. Maybe after a few seconds or a few minutes, we feel that this is the best decision-making policy for this client or to handle the situation in such a way and sometimes it can be so complicated or there is no best possible solution in mind and it can take a lot of days and weeks or months. Then sometimes the decision-making only takes seconds because the situation in corresponding ethical responsibilities are unambiguous. Because we are talking about the ethical dilemmas, ethical issues and ethical constraints, to those matters where ethical obligations are not so high. It is very easy to make a decision there. You can decide in seconds because you can see that A is A and B is B and things are very clear and hence you go for the decision. Others can be complex due to the number of individuals involved, ambiguous issues, a need to clarify loyalties and confidentiality requirements and so on. There can be some scenarios where there are complex experiments where we see that a lot of people are involved. We have to see that which person is working for whom's take. We also have to see where the outcomes are and how far we can see them in our community and in the participants. If there are any small kids involved in the experiment, what could be the long-term effect on their mental health and there could be many other things which are very rude and may be very, you know, a delicate to handle in the term of psychological burden. So, we have to see that the ethical value of that makes it more complex. Some suggested strategies for making ethical decisions include determine whether the metatooly involves ethics. Now, this is very important to say that in every situation, what is the level of ethics involved and it is very important to understand this and to put it in this way. Some experiments, some situations or some scenarios can be so simple that there are no high ethical or moral obligations involved. First, the situation must involve an ethical issue so we need to see that if we have a situation where the ethical situation is involved, what level is it? Distinction between poor professional etiquette and the behavior may become clouded, especially if one feels emotionally involved or under attack. In situations where an individual, who has worked responsibly as a mental health professional or as a therapist, if he is weak emotionally and he feels vulnerable in that situation, then probably his ethics will be compromised. Because when once become the part of that situation, it is very difficult to keep yourself impartial and behave in a very neutral manner. So, it is very important to know this in ethics that your personal biases, your personal grudges, your emotional challenges, they are not in front of you. If those things are also part of that, then as we saw in the past, there were many classical and unethical experiments where researchers were involved, and personal biases were also involved. Then, concerned guidelines are already available that might apply as a possible mechanism for resolution. Now, we have to see that when we are going to do any kind of decision-making, then what helps us? It helps us to find the guidelines that are already available to us, that are ethical, that are available to us, that are APA guidelines. We consult the guidelines, and we see what is the possible solution of our problem in those guidelines. Consult guidelines already available that might apply as a possible mechanism for resolution. For example, research evidence, including case studies, that may apply to the particular situation. Other to the guidelines, we have the case studies as well. For example, if we talk about some classical case studies, we also clear many scenarios that if we reproduce that kind of situation again, like if we talk about Albert's case, which we saw later on, that Watson and Rayner did that systematic desensitization through his phobias, if we resume that situation, then we can well understand how such experiments, how such troubles and ethical problems can be created in today's time. So other than having the guidelines, we are having the case studies as an example, which helps us in making the good decisions.