IMPROVING YOUR DECISION-MAKING SKILLS COMES DOWN TO THESE 5 FACTORS
Source | www.inverse.com
Daily life brings with it a series of decisions. Most are innocuous — what to wear, what to eat for lunch, how to spend your break — while some carry more weight, such as when to tackle difficult tasks. Occasionally, we’re faced with decisions that could carry consequences and may need special consideration.
To help make better decisions, it’s worth understanding what factors lead us to the choices we make. According to published research, there are several factors that contribute to our decision making.
5. PAST DECISIONS
University of Pennsylvania researchers found that our past judgments influence our decisions so that we remain consistent. On top of that, people’s memories tend to adjust to make a new experience consistent with preceding decisions.
“This indicates that humans subconsciously condition themselves to be self-consistent in how they remember the past,” said study co-author Long Luu.
The researchers didn’t expand on the consequences of their finding, but it’s worth keeping this bias for past judgments in mind when we are faced with decisions.
4. CHRONIC STRESS
When faced with two options that carry both good and bad elements, such as deciding between a job with a high salary but long hours and a lower-paying job that allows for more leisure time, whether the individual is under chronic stress could push them toward the high-risk, high-payoff option.