If you’ve ever gone online to order something during a work break – let’s say a new electric toothbrush – expecting it to be fairly straightforward, but instead, you found yourself overwhelmed by the huge number of choices and options available, you’ve experienced decision paralysis.
You’re stunned that there are so many factors to consider; not only the basics, such as price and delivery time but there are many other factors like battery duration, warning lights for excessive pressure and even fancy apps.
The clock is ticking on your break and it’s impossible to make a decision.
This is just one example of decision paralysis – when the sheer number of options and the difficulty of weighing them all up – leads you to freeze.
It used to be thought that increased choice could only be a good thing for consumers and they would welcome it, but actually, it can backfire and prompt people to walk away.
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In other life situations, it might be the weight of the decision that bears down on you.
Perhaps you only have two or three choices, but the risk of making the wrong decision can be paralysing, such as choosing between university places, job offers or even potential romantic partners.
Whatever the context, decision paralysis is more likely to strike if you’re what psychologists call a ‘maximiser’ – that is, you’re highly motivated to find the best choice possible.
In contrast, you’re less likely to be afflicted if you’re a ‘satisficer’, in which case you’re happy making a ‘good enough’ choice, regardless of whether it’s the best of all.
Also relevant is your sense of anticipated regret about making a wrong decision. The more you feel this, the more likely you’ll be paralysed.
In turn, this is related to what you consider to be the ‘opportunity costs’ of making a decision. Simply put, this is all that you’ll miss out on once you choose to go down a particular path.
There are various ways to overcome decision paralysis:
- Recognise that there is rarely any such thing as the perfect decision, especially without a crystal ball.
- Acknowledge that not making a decision is actually a decision – so don’t kid yourself that endlessly procrastinating is the easy solution.
- If you’re willing to put in the effort, a practical approach is to reduce the mental complexity involved in a decision by doing a little research and making some brief notes about the main factors that are important to you in order of priority.
In the case of the toothbrush, this might be price first and then battery duration; in the case of choosing a university it might be prestige first, then friends who are also planning to study there, and lastly proximity to home.
Score the available options against those factors, giving greater weight to those with higher priority. You’ll end up with a numerical score showing you the most favourable decision.
And if it’s a tie, you could always roll a dice.
This article is an answer to the question (asked by Carrie Mueller, Tunbridge Wells) 'What is decision paralysis and how do I deal with it?'
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