I'll Have What She's Having: The Nomological Net of Indecisiveness

Alexander, Katherine N.; Daniels, Michael; Diab, Dalia L.; Pui, Shuang Yueh; Brooks, Margaret E.

doi:10.1037/e722352011-175

Cited by 2 publications

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“…The following section discusses what we know about people who are plagued by indecision: indecisives. Indecisiveness, a chronic difficulty making decisions, is positively related to several personality and behavioral style variables including avoidant and dependant decision making, the tendency to seek advice when making a decision (Alexander et al, 2008); regret proneness, maximization (i.e. tendency to continue to search for a more optimal solution as opposed to satisficing -settling for a satisfactory one), behavioral inhibition (i.e.…”

Section: Trait Indecisionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…tendency to see outcomes as predetermined and outside of one's personal control), low self-esteem, and neuroticism (Bacanli, 2006). Research has found a negative relation between indecisiveness and extroversion (but only in minor decisions; Milgram and Tenne, 2000); conscientiousness (Alexander et al, 2008); behavioral activation (Spunt et al, 2009); and life satisfaction (Alexander et al, 2008;Diab et al, 2008). Taken together, the profile of an indecisive person is one who is often anxious, prone to regret, insecure, and inhibited; these people are slow to decide, and would rather avoid decisions than make them.…”

Section: Trait Indecisionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Management indecision

Brooks¹

2011

Management Decision

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Purpose -Indecision is not the hallmark of a great manager, but what do we know about when and why managers avoid or postpone decisions? The purpose of this paper is to discuss the limited research on indecision. Design/methodology/approach -This article reviews research from judgment and decision making, psychology, management, and marketing literatures to assemble what we already know about indecision. The review spans situational and personal determinants of indecision, highlighting what we know about when and why people experience indecision as well as who is predictably indecisive. Findings -Decisions are avoided when people are asked to justify them, when options are similar in attractiveness, and when there are a large number of options to consider. Indecision may sometimes be a result of systematic biases (i.e. omission bias and status quo bias), and indecisive people may be more prone to confirmation bias. Finally, indecisiveness is related to numerous other individual differences, many of which are negative. Practical implications -Specific recommendations for managers include evaluating options separately rather than comparing options, structuring incentive systems to reward decisive action, and explicitly considering the risk of lost opportunity when deciding whether to put off making a decision. Originality/value -The literature reviewed in this paper spans diverse disciplines and perspectives. This paper provides a starting point for managers and researchers interested in understanding indecision: when and why it occurs, who is likely to be most indecisive, and what we might do to counter indecision.

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Section: Trait Indecisionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Trait Indecisionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Management indecision

Brooks¹

2011

Management Decision

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“…Chronically indecisive people exhibit more dependent decision-making behavior. Specifically, they tend to seek other people’s advice when making decisions (Alexander, Daniels, Diab, Pui, & Brooks, 2008) and will even ask others to make decisions for them (Janis & Mann, 1977). Studies also show that chronically indecisive people also exhibit more avoidant decision-making behavior.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The short-lived benefits of variety seeking among the chronically indecisive.

Jeong

Christensen

Drolet

2016

Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied

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This research investigated the influence of trait indecisiveness on variety-seeking behavior. Study 1 revealed that chronic indecisiveness was associated with increased variety-seeking behavior. Study 2A showed that the incidence of not choosing to make a choice was much lower among chronically indecisive people when a variety-pack option was available, and Study 2B showed that chronically indecisive people chose the variety pack even if it included their least preferred option. Study 3 demonstrated that chronically indecisive people contended with the negative emotion they experienced during choice making by choosing a mix of options. Study 4 revealed that the emotional benefits of variety seeking among the chronically indecisive were short-lived. Chronically indecisive people felt more satisfied and less anxious after choosing a mix of options. However, having chosen a mix, chronically indecisive people then faced more choices, specifically the choices of which specific option to consume on each specific occasion. In this way, variety seeking is a maladaptive long-term emotional coping strategy for the chronically indecisive. The results of this research have important theoretical implications for understanding the causes of variety-seeking behavior as well as practical implications for increasing (a) the incidence of choice making among chronically indecisive people and (b) satisfaction with the choices they do make. (PsycINFO Database Record

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I'll Have What She's Having: The Nomological Net of Indecisiveness

Cited by 2 publications

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Management indecision

Management indecision

The short-lived benefits of variety seeking among the chronically indecisive.

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