Analysis Of Different Styles Of Decision Making
The act of making a decision can be described as selecting a specific option among multiple alternatives. It is usually done to maximize measurable quantities, such as utility or reward. It is an essential cognitive process that humans use to make rational, intuitive, and heuristic decisions in a wide range of situations in science, engineering, economics, management, and other complex situations. As decision-making is a basic process of the mind, it occurs constantly in human thinking.
It is a process whereby a person chooses a preferred choice or a particular course of action from a number of options based on certain criteria or strategies. Various disciplines such as psychology, economics, and philosophy have studied the process of human decision making. All branches are studying behavioral decisions, as this field is called in psychology. Much of the work done on human judgement and decision-making is based on rational choice theories. J. van der Pligt. International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences. 2001. Five different decision-making styles exist. Scott and Bruce say that most people are a mix of the five different styles. But one tends to dominate (Allwood & Salo, 2012). A rational style of decision-making is defined by an exhaustive search for data, a comprehensive inventory of possible alternatives and logical assessment of those alternatives. To put it another way, rational decision style is associated with the use and structure of logic in making decisions.
Intuitive decision making is characterized by a preference for details and premonitions over systematic searching and processing. A decision-making approach is defined as one that relies on intuition, feelings, gut instincts, impressions or feelings. A dependent style of decision-making is one that involves getting the support and direction from others before making any decisions. To put it another way, a style that is dependent on others for guidance and advice before making big decisions can be described as seeking out their opinions. The avoidant style of decision-making is defined as a tendency to withdraw, delay, move back, and ignore the scenarios. An avoidant style involves avoiding decisions as much as possible. Spontaneous-decision-making style involves making quick, rapid and impulsive choices. A spontaneous decision-making style is characterized with a feeling that the process should be completed as soon as possible. The conflict model of decision-making was used to further investigate the influence that self-concept has on decision-making behavior. The findings validated Janis’s and Mann’s (1977), linkage between self-esteem in decision making and style of decision making. The relationship between the three styles of decision-making and decision-making self esteem was found to be modest, but in the direction predicted.
We found modest relationships between self-esteem for decision making (vigilance), defensive avoidance (avoidance), and hypervigilance (vigilance). Self-reported decision-making behaviors were associated with certain aspects of the self-concept. Radford Mann Ohta Nakane ( 1991) studied the cultural influences that affect self-reported styles of decision making. Suresh (1993) attempted to distinguish between the decision making styles of men and women. Leon Mann’s second decision-making questionnaire was used by 87 post-graduate psychology students to collect their data. Males and women were not significantly different in their decision-making style. Males and females did differ significantly on non-vigilant decisions styles. Engin deniz (2006) found a positive correlation between life satisfaction and problem-focused strategies of coping, as well as seeking social support. Life satisfaction was found to be significantly related to all decision styles (vigilance and buckpassing) and decision self-esteem. Moreover, significant relationships have been found between coping stress, decision style, and self-esteem. These results suggest that self-esteem is a major influencer on the decision-making process.
Janis (1976) first identified three patterns of decision-making or behaviors. These patterns consist of vigilances, defensive avoidances, and hypervigilances. The most efficient decision-making style is vigilance. In a study conducted in 1997, a revised pattern of four behaviors was identified: hypervigilance; vigilance; buck-passing and procrastination. In a more recent study, a revised model comprising four patterns-vigilance, hypervigilance, buck-passing, and procrastination was identified (Mann, Burnett, Radford, & Ford, 1997). A vigilant person will need to think about the end goal of any situation that requires a response, to gather relevant information to this goal, to outline possible strategies for achieving the goal, to evaluate each strategy based on its pros and con, to arrive at a final decision with no negative consequences. Hypervigilance can be described as a decision-making style that involves a lot of conflict and stress.
The decision maker believes that he or she does not have enough time to carefully consider a decision. They then search impulsively and somewhat randomly for a solution which will relieve the stress. p. 453-454). This style allows the decision maker to resolve the conflict quickly. Buckpassing is the third type of decision-making style. The third type of decision making style is buckpassing. This style allows the decision maker to easily resolve any conflict. This defensive-reaction style is often evident in hidden bureaucracies. Procrastination is the fourth and final type of decision-making style. This is the first step in delaying any kind of decision. The decision-maker may recognize their own responsibility but is overwhelmed by it and the final decision is made either late or never at all. (Rahaman, H. M. Saidur)
