Spoilt for choice – why we struggle to take decisions

Olivia Leimpeters-Leth

8.9.2023

Translation: Eva Francis

Ever let a coin take a decision about your life? If you did, that little coin would have whiplash. That’s how many decisions you take every day. Are you one of the ever-indecisive people walking this planet? Here’s a solution.

One again, you’re stuck in front of the shelf at a supermarket. The overabundance of fruit yogurt options will have you spending minutes there, wondering which flavour to go for. Blueberry, raspberry, peach, banana... It’s exasperating.

The thing is, this is only one of about 20,000 decisions you take every day, according to brain researcher Ernst Pöppel’s book «Zum Entscheiden geboren» (in English: Born to decide). In it, Ernst Pöppel states that about 40 per cent of your brain is for decision-making only.

Of course, how many decisions you take every day is based on estimates and varies depending on the source. But as Bettina von Helversen, a researcher in judgment and decision-making processes at University of Bremen states, what’s undeniable is that if you count every decision you make in a day – from «I’ll brush my teeth» to «I’ll have tea instead of coffee» – you’ll end up with a high decision count. I spoke with Bettina van Helversen about the struggles of decision-making and how to come to big and small decisions easier in the future.

Yes, no, maybe – why do we struggle to take decisions?

You invest a lot of energy every day in making up your mind about things. According to Bettina can Helversen, even if you take most of the thousands of decisions automatically, you’re still left with between 20 and 70 decisions a day that you have to take consciously. And why does this so often lead to internal conflicts?

«Options represent different goals or desires we have in life. If these are in conflict with each other, things get difficult,» von Helversen says. Doubts arise, especially when you’re taking an important decision such as what to study or which house to buy. That’s when a long process of weighing all the pros and cons starts.

Every decision for something is also a decision against a number of other options. «These trade-offs are easier to accept when you know yourself well. The clearer you are about what’s important to you, the easier you’ll find decision-making,» she says.

We’ve established that knowing yourself makes it easier to take decisions. Beyond that, however, other personality traits also determine who takes decisions quickly – and who will be standing in front of the proverbial yogurt shelf for hours. «Decisive people often have higher self-efficacy and are usually more optimistic and overall emotionally stable,» von Helversen states.

Intuition, experience, expectation – what influences your decisions?

What also makes decision-making so difficult is all those internal and external influences – lack of cognitive resources due to stress or time pressure, emotions, personal preferences, pressure caused by expectations and your social environment. Or your gut feeling.

«Gut feelings are rarely irrational, but rather reflect our experiences,» says von Helversen. «Experience is an important foundation for taking decisions. In a positive sense, as it teaches us which attributes are important to us.» Good decisions you’ve taken in the past will give you guidance for future decisions.

These gut decisions are often more meaningful than those stemming from a long process of weighing pros and cons. And depending on the decision, it can make sense to go with your gut feeling; «Rational processes can sometimes lead you astray,» von Helversen says. «It’s easy to lose a sense of what’s important to you and instead conform to the expectations of others.»

In other words, your social environment expects you to take the normatively correct decision, putting enormous pressure on you. «Especially expectations from people close to you can influence your decisions,» she adds.

Choice overload – do too many options make us unhappy?

You don’t only choose between an enormous number of options every day, you also try to take these decisions in harmony with the many inner and outer influencing factors. With that in mind, it’s no surprise this often leads to inner conflict.

And yet, you’d think having the freedom to decide yourself on so many things every day should give us great satisfaction – or not? Probably the best-known work on this question is The Paradox of Choice, a social critique of our obsession with choice, written by American psychologist Barry Schwartz. The author argues that those who have too many options end up being more dissatisfied with their choices.

This so-called choice overload effect has also been proven in studies. A study by Columbia and Stanford University, for instance, asked test subjects to choose chocolate, giving them different numbers of options. The result? When given six options to choose from, people were more likely to make a purchase than when presented with 24 or 30 options. What’s more, participants reported higher satisfaction with their choices afterward.

More recent studies have found that the number of options alone doesn’t determine how satisfied you are with your choice. There seems to be a sweet spot of not too many and not too few options. An international study by Sage Journal writes: «People are more satisfied when they have a moderate, ideal amount of choice than when they have too little or too much choice.» However, the study goes on to say that this ideal amount is very individual.

Taking decisions – these tips can help

You can’t avoid taking decisions. Whether it’s everyday or life-changing choices, you alone must face them. The good news is there are tips on how to approach taking good decisions and practice decision-making. Here are von Helversen’s five tips on how to deal with life’s large and small decisions:

1. Recognise the problem

Taking decisions is difficult, especially when it comes to important, complex life issues. Your first step could be to ask yourself: why do I find this decision so difficult right now and what’s the problem? «You need to first identify the problem, think about the consequences and become aware of the trade-offs,» von Helversen advises.

2. Keep your goals in mind

After identifying the problem, it’s important to know what your goals are. Free yourself from the pressure of others’ expectations and ask yourself what’s important to you. «Focus on your own preferences,» says von Helversen. «It’s important not to get hung up on attributes that aren’t really important to you.» After weighing all the options, the expert advises to wait until the next morning to make up your mind. «This can help you get that gut feeling back.»

3. Reduce the options

Having an infinite number of options doesn’t make the decision easier nor does it make you happier. What to do? Make a preselection to reduce the burden of decision-making. «Before you go deeper into the individual options, ask yourself which ones are even worth considering.» The options that remain will ideally be in line with your goals and preferences.

4. Aim for a good decision, not the right one

Yes, some decisions are important and objectively right or wrong. But remember: you’ll never have all the information you need and you’ll have to take the decision anyway. «Some factors are only revealed in the future and can’t be taken into account at the decision-making moment,» says von Helversen. In most cases, you’re the only one who can judge whether a decision was right or wrong in the end. And maybe, looking back, the good decisions turn out to be the ones that taught you something.

5. Take decisions with a pinch of salt

Sure, some decisions determine fundamental (life) paths. But most of them can be reversed. «We take the consequences of some decisions too seriously,» von Helversen states. «Why not choose randomly, surprise yourself and go for something new?» In most cases, you can review your decision after you’ve made it and, if you want, change your mind – get a new job, leave your partner or decide to live somewhere else. (Almost) every decision is revisable.

Olivia Leimpeters-Leth

Autorin von customize mediahouse

oliver.fischer@digitecgalaxus.ch

I'm a sucker for flowery turns of phrase and allegorical language. Clever metaphors are my Kryptonite – even if, sometimes, it's better to just get to the point. Everything I write is edited by my cat, which I reckon is more «pet humanisation» than metaphor. When I'm not at my desk, I enjoy going hiking, taking part in fireside jamming sessions, dragging my exhausted body out to do some sport and hitting the occasional party. more

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