Thinking About Decisions: An Integrative Approach of Person and Task Factors

Decisions vary. They vary in both content and complexity. People also vary. An important way that people vary is how much they think about a decision. Some prior research investigating thinking and decision making largely conflicts with most traditional decision theories. For example, if considering an array of products to choose from, thinking more about the different alternative’s attributes should lead to a better decision. However, some research indicates that it may also lead to more focus on irrelevant aspects of the decision situation. We propose that this conflict exists because of a failure to consider the interaction between the individual and the decision task. To test this, we used separate methodologies that enhance or attenuate a person’s thinking. In Study 1 we selected people who were especially high or low in need for cognition (Cacioppo & Petty, 1982) and had them complete a robust decision-making inventory, which included both complex and simple tasks. In Study 2 we manipulated participant’s level of glucose, which acts as the brain’s fuel to enhance or attenuate thinking ability. Both studies support the view that more thought leads to better decisions in complex tasks but does not influence simple decisions, including those that are valence based. These findings show how the individual’s thinking interacts with the constructive elements of the task to shape decision choice. Key Words: Decision making, Thinking, A-DMC, Complex decisions, Need-forcognition, glucose