Factors Influencing Decision-Making
At some point in an individual’s life, he or she must choose a situation or an encounter. Approximately, people make 35,000 remotely conscious decisions daily. The choices range from small decisions such as what to wear to huge decisions such as whether to buy a house. The complexity of decision making varies in different situations; however, one has to make a decision regardless of its magnitude. Sometimes making decisions seems like an easy task but may also seem like a complicated task in different circumstances. Several factors influence how decisions are among individuals and decision-makers. Some of them include but not limited to; uncertainties, commitment escalation, and sunken outcomes, past experiences, individual differences such as age and social/economic status, cognitive biases, and personal relevance belief. Decision making is influenced by different factors, such as past experiences, socioeconomic status, and cognitive biases.
Past experiences can influence the choices that people make. The events or decisions that individuals made in the past may influence the decisions they make in the future. People tend to avoid the wrong choices they made in the past but incline to make similar choices about something if the first attempt led to positive outcomes. For instance, some individuals change how they behave and their regular routines based on what they encountered in the past. According to Black Man and Public Space, Staples’ future decisions are influenced by the circumstances he faced as a black man on the streets while he was 22 years old. The incident with the white woman created a negative mindset in him. He developed a belief that black men are viewed as a threat by people at night, he decided to make adjustments in behavior and routine, so he is not seen as a threat “I now take precautions to make myself less threatening. I move about with care, particularly late in the evening.” (Staples). On the other hand, past experiences can motivate people to do more or make related choices. An excellent example is Jennings in Our Scars Tell the Stories of Our Lives; his past decisions made him both mentally and physically stronger. “Better to be a scarred and living dog than to be a dead lion.” (Jennings). Therefore, past experiences can shape or hinder an individual’s choices.
Socioeconomic status can significantly influence the decisions of an individual. In a social economy, people make economic decisions based on what they have and what is most preferred. Those from low-income earning households make purchases based on the available resources, affordability, and the necessity of the item thereof as compared to those from medium or high earning families. For instance, Tierney in Do You Suffer from Decision Fatigue? says that the poor have limited choices when shopping, especially those from rural India, as compared to the Americas “Most of us in America won’t spend a lot of time agonizing over whether we can afford to buy soap, but it can be a depleting choice in rural India.” (Tierney). Besides, socioeconomic perceptions alter treatment choices towards a particular group of population. Black is perceived as criminals, thugs, rapists, and miserable. Staples recalls his encounter as a black man at the North Side jewelry store when he wanted to purchase jewelry to improve his look before the interviews; the proprietor perceived him as a criminal. Hence, she “excused herself and returned with an enormous red Doberman Pinscher straining at the end of a leash. She stood, the dog extended toward me, silent to my questions, her eyes bulging nearly out of her head.” (Staples) Indeed, socioeconomic status has a significant effect on decision making.
Finally, cognitive biases also impact individual decisions. Such preferences include patterns of thinking built on generality and remarks that may result in inaccurate judgment, logic as well as memory. Some individuals are judged based on their physic; hence, many choices are made in an attempt to avoid associating with them. Staples illustrate how his physical appearance frightened people around him, thus forcing them to do whatever they can to prevent him. He recalls how people get terrified when he does casual wear. He says, “I give a wide berth to nervous people on subway platforms during the wee hours, particularly when I have exchanged business clothes for jeans.” Moreover, through cognitive biases, people rely more on anticipated observations while ignoring unclear views. Thus, people base on single dimensions of phenomena instead of considering a variety of factors before making choices. According to Do You Suffer From Decision Fatigue? Tierney says that people tend to look at price or quality dimensions when shopping. “Give me the cheapest. I want the very best (an especially easy strategy if someone else is paying).” (Tierney) Therefore, cognitive biases influence the choices people make regarding shopping, behaviors, and who to associate with, among other decisions.
Conclusively, several factors influence decision-making. The primary factors include past experiences, socioeconomic status, and cognitive biases that have a significant influence on decision making. The illustrations above explore how people’s decisions are negatively or positively influenced by their experience, socioeconomic status, and cognitive biases.
Works Cited
Black Men and Public Space, by Brent Staples. www.hamiltonunique.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Black-Men-in-Public-Space-Article.pdf.
Jennings, Dana. “Our Scars Tell the Stories of Our Lives.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 20 July 2009, www.nytimes.com/2009/07/21/health/21case.html?smid=em-share.
Tierney, John. “Do You Suffer From Decision Fatigue?” The New York Times, The New York Times, 17 Aug. 2011, www.nytimes.com/2011/08/21/magazine/do-you-suffer-from-decision-fatigue.html.