How to Make Better Decisions

www.columbiabasin.edu/home/index.asp?page=2240

Don’t Cry Over Spilt Milk

Does this scenario sound familiar? At the back of your wardrobe lurks an ill – fitting item of clothing you refuse to throw away because you spent a future on it. The forced behind this bad decision is calling the sunk cost fallacy. Experts demonstrated just how easily we can be duped by it. They got students to imagine they had bought a weekend skiing trip for one hundred dollar, and then discovered an even cheaper deal at fifty dollar, to a better resort. Only after paying for both trips were the student told they were on the same weekend. What would they do? Surprisingly, most opted for the less appealing but more expensive trip because of the greater cost already invested in it.

Image by stevecadman via Flickr

The reason behind this is the more we invest in something, the more commitment we feel towards it. The investment needn’t be financial. Who hasn’t persevered with a tedious book? Always remind yourself that the past. If at the time of considering whether to end a project you wouldn’t initiate it, then it’s probably not a good idea to continue.

Image via Wikipedia

Have Someone Else Choose

We tend to believe we will be happier making our own decisions. Yet, no matter the outcome, the process of making a decision can sometimes leave us feeling dissatisfied. Then, it may be better to relinquish control.

Some of the University published a series of experiments that explore this idea. In one test, subjects had to choose between several times without any information to guide them. When asked to indicate their level of satisfaction with the outcome and how they felt about the decision, they were all less satisfied than people who had simply been assigned an option.

Image via Wikipedia

The reason, say the researchers, is that the choosers couldn’t give themselves credit even if they ended up with a good option, yet still felt burdened by the thought that they might not have chosen the best alternative. Even when choosers had a little information that not enough to feel responsible for the outcome they felt no happier choosing than being chosen for.

Image via Wikipedia

These findings have broad implications for any decision that’s either or trivial or distasteful. For instance, try letting someone else choose the wine during dinner. There’s a fixation with choice, a belief that it brings happiness.

www.iaia.org/iaiaconference/?p=News&id=5

Conclusion

Most of the people beings instinctively make decisions from the time they start to think coherently. However, research shows majority of us do not make good decisions? It is very important to be knowledgeable about which techniques in decision making actually work and as well as to know about what is decision that we are making. These are some of the tips that can help you to become good decision maker.