Oftentimes we hear people or even our friends would sigh, “I have no choice!” over a decision that has been made. Is this really true that we have no choice over selecting the options we have to take or is it a defense mechanism when things gone wrong over a bad decision?
Decision from Latin “decidere” which means to cut off, to decide is to arrive at a solution that ends uncertainty or dispute (Taylor, 2012). A typical thesaurus might use words like accommodation, agreement, arrangement, choice, compromise, declaration, determination, outcome, preference, resolution, result, and verdict is to try and give the concept of “decision” some dimension (Panday, 2012).
It is a choice between two or more alternatives. If you only have one alternative, you do not have a decision (Panday, 2012) – that is when we say “I have no choice.” Initially, it is cleared that having no choice is not deciding at all, therefore they are two different entities. But how do we decide as a psychological being? Are there factors involved in our decision-making that led us to choose one alternative over another?
We all make decisions of varying importance every day, from what clothes to wear, or what food to eat, which car to buy up to whether to forgive or not to forgive. It seems that decision making is a complicated task now. The idea that decision making can be a rather sophisticated art may at first seem strange. However, studies have shown that most people are much poorer at decision making than they think.
Decision making is the study of identifying and choosing alternatives based on the values and preferences of the decision maker (Saxena, 2000). Meaning to say there are alternative choices to be considered. The process of sufficiently reducing uncertainty and doubt about alternatives to allow a reasonable choice to be made from among them is the mechanism of decision making. In the process, it stresses the information-gathering function of the decision maker where uncertainty is reduced rather than eliminated and involves a certain amount of risk.
What alternatives to consider? According to Robert Harris (2012), whether which alternative has the highest probability of success or effectiveness, or which best fits with our goals, desires, lifestyle and values. Take note: the “Do it” or “Don’t do it” does not qualify as a set of alternatives. Only “Do this” or “Do something else” really qualifies for every decision must be made in the light of some standard of judgment, expressed in the form of criteria, which reflect the values and preferences of the decision maker. These values and preferences are often influenced by corporate rules or culture, law, even best practices in the area of what is being decided upon.
It might be helpful to know what are the basic kinds of decisions (Harris, 2012) that perhaps we do or encounter every day? (1) The Decisions whether – the yes/no, either/or decision that must be made before we proceed with the selection of an alternative. Should I buy a new TV? Should I travel this summer? Decisions whether are made by weighing reasons pro and con. A simple worksheet with two columns (one for Pro–reasons for, and one with Con–reasons against) can be useful for this kind of decision and preferences of the decision maker. (2) The Decisions which – involves a choice of one or more alternatives from among a set of possibilities, the choice being based on how well each alternative measure up to a set of predefined criteria. (3) The Contingent Decisions – these are decisions that have been made but put on hold until some condition is met. For example, I have decided to buy that car if I can get it for the right price; or I have decided to attend the meeting if I can work the necessary time for it into my schedule. Under this decision are contingent alternatives which involve two or more choices of action, one of which will be taken when the appropriate trigger occurs. Often this trigger is an event or more. Like: If tomorrow is cloudy or rainy, we will conduct the game inside the gym, but if the day is clear, we will do it at the field.
Another factor and component of decision making is the decision environment. It is the collection of information, alternatives, values, and preferences available at the time of the decision. An ideal decision environment would include all possible information, all of it accurate, and every possible alternative. However, both information and alternatives are constrained because the time and effort to gain information or identify alternatives are limited. The time constraint simply means that a decision must be made by a certain time while the effort constraint reflects the limits of manpower, money, and priorities. You wouldn’t want to spend three hours and half a tank of gas trying to find the very best parking place at the mall, right? That is why decision environment is very essential in choosing for different alternatives. Since decisions must be made within this constrained environment, we can say that the major challenge of decision making is uncertainty, and a major goal of decision analysis is to reduce uncertainty. We can almost never have all information needed to make a decision with certainty, so most decisions involve an undeniable amount of risk. Delaying a decision as long as reasonably possible, provides three benefits: (a) the decision environment will be larger, providing more information. There is also time for more thoughtful and extended analysis; (b) new alternatives might be recognized or created; and (c) the decision maker’s preferences might change. But, delaying a decision involves several risks as well: (a) as the decision environment continues to grow, the decision maker might become overwhelmed with too much information and either make a poorer decision or else face decision paralysis; (b) Some alternatives might become unavailable because of events occurring during the delay. In a few cases, where the decision was between two alternatives (attack the pass or circle around behind the large rock), both alternatives might become unavailable, leaving the decision maker with nothing. (c) and we have all had the experience of seeing some amazing bargain only to hesitate and find that when we go back to buy the item, it is sold out. In a competitive environment, (d) a faster rival might make the decision and gain advantage. Another manufacturer might bring a similar product to market before you (because that company didn’t delay the decision) or the opposing army might have seized the pass while the other army was “letting the decision environment grow.” As it said by General George S. Patton, Jr., “A good plan, executed now, is better than a perfect plan next week.” This proves that history is full of examples where battles have more often been lost by a leader’s failure to make a decision than by his making a poor one. Thus, whether we are sure or uncertain of things brought about by our decisions we have to understand the psychology of decision making and how will it work for you.
Decision making can be regarded as the mental processes (cognitive process) resulting in the selection of a course of action among numerous different situations. Every process produces an ultimate choice. Decision making is said to be a psychological construct although we can never “see” a decision, we can infer from observable behavior that a decision has been made. It is necessary to examine individual decisions in the context of a set of needs, preferences an individual has and values they seek. Knowledge of your personality type will explain to you how you instinctively prefer to make decisions.
Identifying your personality preferences on four dichotomies according to the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) and how does it affect your decisions has a lot to say. Under this personality test there are indicators of personality and its actions based on these dimensions: Extraversion – Introversion; Sensing – Intuition; Thinking – Feeling; and Judging – Perceiving.
The aspects of personality important for problem solving and decision making shows that when a person has high preference clarity on these dichotomies would lead to thinking/deciding as follows:
Extraversion – the person will want to talk through their ideas in order to clarify them. They can “talk through” problem in group and works in “real world”. Strength is attending to external reality and listening to others.
Introversion – the person will want to take time to think and clarify their ideas before they begin talking about the alternatives or even the decision. They attend to internal consistency of solutions and are brainstorming privately wanting to reflect on the problem.
Sensing – Individuals will be more likely to pay attention to facts, details, and reality. They will tend to select standard solutions that have worked in the past. Personal experiences have a lot to do when deciding, basing on practicality of solutions and conforming to standards. Strength is on attending to details (what could go wrong), developing and implementing specific steps of solution.
Intuition – Persons with this preference will more likely attend to the meaningfulness of the facts, the relationships among the facts, and the possibilities of future events that can be imagined from these facts. They will exhibit a tendency to develop new, original solutions rather than to use what has worked previously. Strength is on seeing connections and linking them as they develop complex solutions and noting implications of improper solution(s).
Thinking – Individuals with this preference will tend to use logic and analysis during problem solving; will likely to value objectivity and to be impersonal in drawing conclusions. They will want solutions to make sense in terms of the facts, models, and/or principles under considerations. Strength is on attending to internal and external consistencies, tend to evaluate for efficiency and effectiveness of the decision being made.
Feeling – Individuals with this preference will consider values and feelings in the problem-solving process and will tend to be subjective in their decision making and to consider how their decisions could affect other people. Strength on evaluating decisions for impact on people in terms of valued by participants.
Judging – Individuals are more likely to prefer structure and organization and will want the problem-solving process to demonstrate closure. They identify possible defects, follow steps during implementation and evaluate for effectiveness and efficiency.
Perceiving – Individuals are more likely to prefer flexibility and adaptability. They are more concerned that the problem-solving process considers a variety of techniques and provides for unforeseen change. Their solutions are flexible and adaptable, having enough information provided in solution and variety of alternatives are considered.
So, whatever categories you are in, use this knowledge in decision making at your advantage and never to ran out of solutions over things that are worth deciding because at the end of the day, it is you who decides and takes all the responsibility and accountability there is on your chosen alternative. In conclusion, the truth of the “I have no choice!” used in decision making where in fact, there are choices to consider is an act of cowardice to accept full responsibility and work on the consequences of their decided “choice”. Knowing your personality aspect – stand your ground weighing all things that matter most. Be decisive.
By: Jennlyn Y. Dizon
