Consumer Decision-Making and the Consumption of Information

Herbert Simon (1955, 1956, 1957) suggested that, due to cognitive limitations and the ever-growing complexity of the human environment, some people develop a decision-making method called “satisficing” that simplifies choice situations. Schwartz et al. (2002) explained that satisficers seek that which is simply “good enough,” so any extraneous options are not relevant once the satisficer’s needs have been met. Maximizers, on the other hand, feel compelled to always make the best possible decision and are driven to meticulously evaluate each alternative in order to ensure that the optimal choice is made. While satisficers are comfortable making decisions based partly on internal information and what “feels” right to them, maximizers necessitate abundant, concrete facts to make the optimal choice (Schwartz, 2004). This experiment explored the differences in how maximizers and satisficers use, interpret, and remember consumer information. In addition, using Nygren’s Decision-Making Style Inventory (DMI), I analyzed the relationship between analytical/intuitive/regret-based decision-making styles (Nygren, 2000), and maximizing/satisficing decision-making styles. One hundred and seventy introductory psychology students completed Schwartz’s Maximization Scale, Regret Scale (Schwartz, 2002), DMI, and Generalized Self Efficacy Scale (Bosscher and Smit, 1998). Then, using an interactive computer program that measured information consumption, participants viewed fictional advertisements for ordinary consumer products. Information was provided concerning product characteristics like usability, materials, aesthetics, and technical specifications. The program recorded how much information participants viewed and the duration of time spent viewing the information. Participants also answered questions regarding what information they remembered, the confidence level regarding their product decisions, the likelihood of post-decision regret, and various other decision-making details. Results indicated that the maximization and analytical decision-making styles were significantly correlated. Maximizing was significantly correlated with the expressed need for gathering information and effort expended in evaluating products. The analytical style was correlated with the time participants viewed information, the number of items viewed, the expressed need for gathering information, the effort expended in evaluating products, and the amount of information remembered. These findings suggest that for this type of decision situation, the DMI was a more effective measurement tool than the Maximization Scale. Also, analytical decision-makers evaluated product information and made decisions using a significantly more complex, exacting approach. The findings of this experiment contribute to the understanding of how decision-making styles affect information consumption. These results have implications for advertising, consumer behavior, and future judgment and decision-making research.Honors Undergraduate Research Scholarship AwardSocial and Behavioral Sciences Undergraduate Research GrantNo embarg