Decisions Decisions
We humans possess one of the most powerful computers in existence lodged between our ears. Neuroscientists would have us believe that it is far more powerful than any super-computer yet to be created by even the most talented of technologists and mathematicians.
Capable of 1016 processes per second, a figure we can barely comprehend, it is, at the same time, also held back by a multitude of limitations.
Some of these limitations we are aware of, some we might suspect and many we don’t even realise are there. But never are these limitations more apparent than when it comes to us humans making decisions.
According to Sekoul Krastev, Strategy Director of behavioural science think tank, The Decision Lab, we make around 35,000 decisions every day, from the moment we open our eyes, to the moment we close them we are in a constant decision- making state.
Most feel so intuitive and automatic we don’t even consider them to be a decision that needs making.
A great example of this is cleaning our teeth: we pick up the toothbrush, squeeze the paste, turn the tap on – all of these actions and behaviours are controlled by a decision we are making in real time. But if we think about it, these decisions seem to make themselves, and if asked about them, we shrug nonchalantly with an ‘of course’ because they are just ‘what we do’.
Much of our daily decision making resembles being on autopilot; it is learned, it is habitual and it requires very little mental effort. And then there are the other decisions we make during the day, ones that require greater deliberation and analysis. From deciding what to wear when the weather isn’t as predicted, choosing a different route to walk to work if a road is closed, through to deciding whether to have children or change your career.
Different decisions that require consideration, thought and analysis, pros and cons, lists for and against. We have a tonne of decision aid models we can refer to when trying to navigate a more challenging decision.
These two types of thinking and decision making were referred to as System Thinking by two famous economists Dan Kahneman and Amos Tversky in their original thesis and later book entitled “Thinking Fast & Slow”.
They described the working of the human brain as if it were a combination of two distinct operations or characters: they named them System One and System Two.
SYSTEM ONE
Ordering our usual cup of coffee. We make the decision but it feels automatic, it is quick and with very little effort or voluntary control. Instinctive and intuitive.
SYSTEM TWO
Trying to solve a complex problem, or a decision that involves comparative analysis or focus (to name just a couple of aspects). A sign of System 2 in play is that we are rarely able to conduct two System 2 activities at the same time. Trying to solve a Sudoku problem whilst figuring out directions to the nearest hospital, well, it is just not going to happen.
It is also why when we try to focus on something complicated; solving a complex problem, doing our tax returns, we often find we ‘tune the world out’ to allow all our cerebral and cognitive energy to focus on the single task in hand.
Unlike driving a car, singing a song, telling your dog not to lick your son and wondering what to cook for dinner all at the same time. To help bring this concept to life, I like to think of them as the characters in the fable ‘The Tortoise and the Hare’.
One slow and deliberative, the other fast and impulsive. Whilst these are both extremes, they are helpful in understanding the basic principle.
Thousands of papers, articles and research studies have been written on this art of human decision making (and many are well worth a read, both informative and highly entertaining), but where this becomes both interesting and also challenging for brands is when it applies to customers making decisions about their products or services.
Research has shown that decision making can flip between System 1 and System 2 depending on the nature of the purchase and the level of interest and engagement in the category.
For example, habitual purchases of the same toothpaste brand can be firmly System 1, whereas purchasing a new car, engagement ring or life insurance policy (to name a few) are firmly System 2.
But it doesn’t end there. For despite the fact we all function with System 1 and System 2, when it comes to consumer decision making, there is another layer to consider.
In the 1950’s, the renowned psychologist Herbert A. Simon categorised consumers into two different types; Satisficers and Maximizers:
SATISFICER
A Satisficer, by definition, likes making quick decisions that satisfy them, and they don’t obsess over too many options.
MAXIMIZER
They have criteria and standards, however their happiness with their choice does not rest on a need to have considered every option or the idea that there could have been something better to choose.
A Maximizer has been described as being a perfectionist who can only make a decision when they feel they have searched exhaustively, examined all the facts, accessed all the data available and considered all alternatives available to them.
Maximizers typically get a good result with their purchase but can quickly develop a ‘purchase hangover’ (when the happiness diminishes) as they are plagued by a sense that there might have been a better option than the one they chose in the end.
Whether it is an ice cream flavour or a choice of car, Maximizers are prone to believing a better choice was or is available. Consider the two types when it comes to choosing a pair of new black shoes. Both types have a set of criteria in their minds; colour, style, level of comfort etc.
Imagine them now entering a shopping mall with over 20 stores selling black shoes. Our Satisficer will begin their search, but as soon as they find a pair that broadly meet their criteria, the purchase is made. This could be Store 1 or Store 4.
Conversely, our Maximizer is most likely to still be seen examining and trying on shoes in Store 20 several hours later, wanting to make sure they have seen every option available before making the final purchase. And this final purchase may not even happen in the Mall, they may wait until they get home and extend the search online.
When examining the two types, there is a tendency to see the Maximizer as the ‘better decision maker’. After all, they are doing their homework, giving considerable thought and analysis to their decision, surely they will end up with the best option? They task themselves with making “the most informed, intelligent decision”, however there have been numerous real-life studies that prove exactly the opposite is the case.
They can suffer under the pressure of high self- expectations, set unachievable goals when it comes to making the ‘right’ choice, and in the end, the right decision can still be elusive. This is never more apparent when it comes to dating, and in particular online dating.
Maximizers tend to dwell on their search for the perfect partner, exhausting all their options in an effort to find ‘the one’. Finding someone who ticks the boxes of all their criteria, harshly judging those that don’t, and finding themselves of having chosen no-one or constantly thinking of all the newer/ better options they may be missing.
Satisfiers, on the other hand, will tend to chance their luck, will try meeting people who broadly show some of the important characteristics (physical and intellectual. As a result they tend to experience more options and are far more likely to find themselves happy in love, or at least with a healthy and busy social diary.
As we know with affairs of the heart, there is no magic formula for happiness and “perfect” comes in many forms, but for Maximizers, they can be their own worst enemy. And before you think that’s that, this becomes even more complicated when you consider that these two ‘types’ are not set in stone.
Whilst each individual has a certain leaning towards one type or the other, when it comes to purchasing decisions this individual can switch between types.
An interesting discovery from research into the two has shown:
Satisficers typically get good results and experience a positive post purchase halo.
Maximizers can suffer from post decision regret and anxiety .
When it comes to your life, which one are you?