Alternative-focused thinking is conventionally recognized as the right way to make career decisions, which uses weighted mean to assess the better one. However, alternatives are relevant only because they are means to achieve values. With value-focused thinking (VFT), the authors advance decision-making values should be the primary focus of decision making rather than alternatives. VFT describes and illustrates concepts and procedures for creating better alternatives for career decision-making problems. This article articulates and uses one’s fundamental values to guide and integrate his/her career decision making activities. As a result, career decision-making study has new angle of views and explores many implicated techniques to understand a decision-making setting.

This study assessed conflict monitoring during presentation of risky decision alternatives, as indexed by the Nogo-N2, Nogo-P3, N2d and P3d event-related potentials (ERP). Decision-makers were tested on a Go/Nogo gambling task in which gain/loss outcomes as well as stimulus type (Go/Nogo) were equiprobable. Frontal-central Nogo-N2 and Nogo-P3 did not significantly differ across risky decision alternatives, whereas N2d and P3d amplitudes were more sensitive to the nature of risky decision alternatives. Frontal-central N2d was moderated by the magnitude of alternatives, with N2d amplitude greater for large than small alternatives, a result that suggests a greater degree of conflict monitoring for the former. Central P3d was associated with alternative valence, such that P3d amplitude was greater for loss than gain valences, again suggestive of more conflict monitoring for the former. The N2d and P3d potentials in risky decision alternatives are discussed in terms of the functional significance of the N2/P3 complex.