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Decision-making involves the following steps
- Observing the problems
- Making analysis of it
- Deciding the available courses of action
- Taking one course and
- Accepting the consequence of the decision
Decision - making is a process comprising a sequence of stages with a distinct type of activity occurring during each stage. Similarly, the way in which an individual adopts an innovation is viewed as a process, a series of related events in a time sequence.
The adoption of specific practices is not the result of a single decision to act but series of actions and thought decisions. Entire process undergoes five stages, popularly known as AIETA.
- Awareness Stage
This is the starting stage wherein the farmers/farm women come to know the existence of the new idea but he doesn’t have full information about the idea. At this stage farmer is aware of the idea, but lacks detailed information about it. For instance, the person may know only the name and may not know what the idea is, what it will do or how it will work.
- Interest Stage
The farmer develops interest in the innovation and seeks additional information about it either from extension officer or from fellow farmers or from any source, which he feels credible. That means the farmer at the interest stage acquires more information about an innovation or idea. Farmer wants to know, what the innovation/idea is, how it works and what its potentialities are.
- Evaluation Stage
The farmer here makes mental application of the new idea in the present and anticipated future situations and decides whether or not to try it. The farmer at this stage judges the utility of the innovation. He/she makes an assessment whether the idea is applicable to own situation and if applied what would be the result.
- Trial Stage
At the first instance, the farmers may not take up any new idea and an innovation right away on a large scale because he/she doesn’t want to take risk even though the potential of the idea has been proved. The farmer actually applies the new idea on a small scale in order to determine its utility or feasibility & applicability in own situation. Even though, the farmer takes a decision to try the idea by virtue of its plus points or merits, generally the effectiveness of the idea is tested taking this as small scale trials in their own field standards, even though farmers has thought about it for longtime and gathered information concerning it.
- Adoption Stages
Being satisfied with the performance of the new idea tested on small scale in his own situation, the farmer uses the new idea continuously on a full scale. Trial may be considered as the practical evaluation of an innovation. The innovation becomes a part of his normal farming activity. It provides the advantage of the innovation and hence the farmer takes final decision and applies the innovation in a scale appropriate to own situation on a continued basis.
We shall now take an example and see how a farmer/farmwoman actually goes through all these stages before adopting a new idea. Here we can take an example of adopting Ragimalt to feed a child.
- Awareness stage: The woman is just aware that there is a new type of food to feed the baby. She has become aware about this either from mass media, or an anganwadi/ balwadi worker of the village.
- Interest stage: in this stage she seeks more information from the original source or other sources about the food.
- In the evaluative stage, she weighs the plus and minus points about the new food. She evaluates as to whether the food is worth buying from the market, or she should make it at home? These are some questions she will ask at this stage.
- Trial stage: in this stage she does not want to take the risk of making the food in bulk and storing it, hence she will prepare or purchase in a small quantity and they do feed the child. Hence she wants to try on a small scale because the child may or may not accept the food.
Note: here we should remember that when we are dealing with human beings or their health, the results may not be easily visible within a short time. It is the extension worker to convince the mother about the advantages of feeding the baby with ragi.
- Adoption stage: if she is satisfied that the baby has accepted the new food she may actually adopt on a larger scale.
If however you take the example of a woman buying a new product in the market like a soap powder. The five stages can be very well understood.
The stages of adoption may keep changing. All the stages may not occur with every individual. Some may skip one stage while some may repeat the same stage. Similarly some may take more time to move from one stage to the other while others may take a very short time
The stages can be summarized as
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Stage
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Act
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Awareness
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Hearing first about the innovation
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Interest
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Seeking further information
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Evaluation
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Weighing up the advantages and disadvantages of using it
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Trial
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Testing the innovation on a small scale
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Adoption
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Applying the innovation on a large scale in preference to old methods
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Participants