Meet Tripp (Matthew McConaughey), thirty-five years old, has a nice car, loves sailing, and lives in a nice house—his parents’. Tripp’s attachment to his family usually annoys any woman with whom he becomes serious. Mother Sue (Kathy Bates) and father Al (Terry Bradshaw) hire Paula (Sarah Jessica Parker). She specializes in detaching people like Tripp from their families. The term “failure to launch” refers to the failure to move out of the family home at an earlier age.
The Bird Problem: Fast Decision Making!
This fast-moving sequence begins with the sound of a bird chirping as it perches on a tree limb. Kit (Zooey Deschanel) and Ace (Justin Bartha) have waited patiently for the bird’s arrival. This bird has annoyed Kit for many days. Ace believes that Kit only pumped the shotgun twice. The sequence ends after the bird leaves the house.
1. Does “The Bird Problem” present Kit and Ace with a programmed or nonprogrammed decision? What features of their decision problem led to your choice?
2. Review the earlier section describing the decision-making steps. Which of these steps appear in “The Bird Problem?” Note the examples of each step that you see.

3. Assess the degree of certainty, uncertainty, and risk that Kit and Ace face in this decision problem. What factors set the degree of certainty or uncertainty?