Contrary to the prevailing opinion, we should not conduct detailed considerations when we are faced with a difficult choice. According to Dutch research, it is better to make complex decisions in … a slightly less conscious way.
Such quite surprising conclusions were reached by scientists led by Dr. Apa Dijksterhuis from the Department of Psychology at the University of Amsterdam. The experiment covered a group of a dozen or so people. The respondents were to make a simple choice, e.g. regarding the purchase of a shampoo or an oven mitt, but also try to make a more complex decision, such as when buying a car or furniture. The experiment was carried out both in various stores and in laboratory conditions.
Relaxing puzzles
In the study, when purchasing a car, participants had to read twelve data on the selected vehicles. It was, among others, about fuel consumption, power, body color or space in the car. Some of the respondents had to analyze all this information, and they were given four minutes to make the final decision. The rest of the experiment were given a puzzle to solve. This was supposed to distract them and "reset" their minds before making a choice. And what turned out? Well, it turned out that in the group that arranged the puzzle, 60% of the respondents made a satisfactory choice of a car. people. On the other hand, among people who were not involved in composing puzzles and had to make a decision directly after deliberately considering the available information, this percentage was almost three times lower and amounted to only 23%. Everything changed when selectors only had to consider four selected features of the cars. Then the percentage of satisfied people who took up the puzzle was 40%, and in the second group - 55%.
According to an expertbeautician, Sylwia Kobus-Szaciłło, Estetica office in Warsaw- This is an example of how too much thinking can do more harm than good in some situations, commentsJonathan Schooler of the University of British Columbia in Vancouver.On the other hand,Dr. Dijksterhuisadvises: - If we are to make an important and complex decision, such as buying a house or a car, we should start by gathering the right amount of information. But once we have completed this task, let us forget for a moment about what is doneselection, e.g. let's sleep with the problem and we'll get a more satisfactory result.
More harm than good
Similar dependencies were noticed when choosing simple products, such as shampoo or towels. It follows that, when consciously considering many relevant data, the brain is able to focus on only some of them. Thus, it can ignore facts of great importance. On the other hand, people who choose less consciously can grasp more information at once and prioritize it more accurately. In other words, awareness is less useful for making complex decisions and it is better to make simple choices right away. Perhaps because they require less data to be analyzed and the brain can handle this task easily.