One model for such decision making, sometimes referred to as decision making in naturalistic settings, is Gary Klein's Recognition Primed Decision Model (RPD). The RPD does not call for explicit listing of options, and no direct comparisons are made among options. Instead, a candidate choice occurs very quickly to the decision maker. The argument is that the brain makes this choice available, based on a very quick search through a neurological database of similar events or situations. The mind also makes available a course of action that may have worked in the past in similar circumstances, and it is this course of action that seems to intuitively occur to the decision maker. As the scenario proceeds, if the first choice is invalidated by new information, the mind responds by providing yet another pattern-match and a corresponding new recommended course of action.

According to Klein, "The simple version of the RPD model is a model of intuition." It must be noted that the RPD appears to be appropriate for explaining how individuals make decisions in naturalistic settings, but may not be relevant for examining or explaining team or organizational decision making dynamics.