Maximizing and Satisficing

Some decisions have huge long term impact. Slog in 11th and 12th standard and you are far more likely to end up comfortably off for the rest of your life, for example. But of course, we want multiple things – happiness, money, health, to name just a few. And different choices can lead to more of one and less (even none) of the other. Even worse, at the time you make a choice, you can’t be sure how things will play out.

 

Mark Koslow points out that:

“With this frame of mind, decisions can become paralyzing.”

Then again:

“Certain people can float while others fall into analysis paralysis.”

 

He quotes Barry Schwartz on the two types of decision makers:

“Maximizers, when faced with a decision, need to know they are choosing the best option. Satisficers don’t need to know they’re choosing the best option. Instead, they’re comfortable making a decision when they see an option that is good enough and meets their standards.”

Of course, everyone flips from one mode to the other based on the context; but it’s also true that people tend to be one or the other much of the time.

 

Which leads to Koslow’s next point:

“The distinction between maximizer and satisficer is important because it affects not only how we make decisions, but also how we feel about our decisions.”

Maximizers don’t handle uncertainty well; they have more regrets; they enjoy things less because they’re always thinking of that road not taken (and whether it would have led to better outcomes). Does that mean it’s better to be a satisficer?

“The studies show maximizers tend to get better objective outcomes than satisficers, even though they subjectively feel worse about those same outcomes.”

And so we go round and round. If a maximer has better outcomes but doesn’t feel that way, then is he really better off? Is the objective experience (outcome) more important than the relative experience (how one feels)? Or are you just lying to yourself by feeling happy with whatever path you picked?

 

Is there no answer then to the question? Or do Herbert Simon’s lines define the ideal course to take?

“When all the costs (in time, money, and anguish) involved in getting information about all the options are factored in, satisficing is, in fact, the maximizing strategy.”

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