Apply our problem solving method

• Learn how to choose among alternative strategies in order to make informed choices.

“For the past 2 years, I have agonized over the choice between going into academia or industry after I graduate. My advisor recommends that I make a decision as soon as possible, but I just feel stuck.”

“I am very systematic when it comes to the small choices in life, like choosing a cereal or deciding on an apartment, but not so much when it comes to the important things. I guess I'll just go with the flow.”

“Why are we learning about decision-making? I am in a PhD program; I know how to make decisions.”

As a scientist, you know how to gather evidence systematically gather evidence and rule out alternative explanations when addressing a research question. However, being a well-educated scientist does not necessarily mean you are perfectly logical, systematic, or thorough when it comes to making important life choices. 

Instead:

• You may allow your emotions to dictate your decisions. In fact, how you make decisions may be more strongly related to your emotional response to the decision than to your educational status (Galotti, 2007). Decision-making tendencies are also related to your social support, self-efficacy (see Coping & Self-Efficacy) and autonomy (Guay et al., 2006). 
• You may limit the amount of information you take into consideration when making choices (Brandstätter, Gigerenzer, & Hertwig, 2006; Guay et al., 2006). 
• You may have a difficult time making decisions when tradeoffs are high or when you are faced with many different options, which can lead to indecision or inaction (Iyengar & Lepper, 2000; Luce, Payne, & Bettman, 1999). 
• The field of behavioral economics has shown that you do not usually make decisions that will be of maximum benefit to you personally (Mullainathan & Thaler, 2001). Instead, you often rely on heuristics and predictable but irrational decision-making rules.

The first step in learning to be a more effective decision-maker is to assess how you make decisions under different circumstances and to evaluate whether or not these decision-making styles are working for you.

Below are different types of decision-making styles (Scott & Bruce, 1995).,

• What type of style sounds most familiar?
• When do you find that you use a particular style?
• What style is most effective for you?

RATIONAL

Do you collect facts and information, examine the pros and cons of each alternative, and choose the best accordingly?

INTUITIVE

Do you tend to listen to your heart, emotions, or gut reaction when you weigh alternatives, even if what they are telling you defies logic?

DEPENDENT

Do you tend to rely on the opinions and guidance of others when deciding on a course of action?

AVOIDANT

Do you put off decision-making until options start to decline? Do you wait until the decision is made for you to avoid the decision-making process? In other words, do you decide by not deciding?

SPONTANEOUS

Do you make rash choices at the spur of the moment, based on how you feel at that time?

NEGATIVE

Do you tend to see mostly the cons of any potential course of action?

OPTIMISTIC

Do you tend to see mostly the pros of any potential course of action and pay less attention to the cons?

Some of these decision-making styles are obviously not ideal, but what is most important is that you are satisfied with the outcome of your decision-making. It is also important that you do not fool yourself about how you make decisions. For example, rationalizing a decision after it is already made is not an example of rational decision-making.

If your decision-making strategies are not working for you, below are a few recommended techniques you can try. See which one works best for you. 

Before you begin, you will need to have a list of solution alternatives that you have generated. Visit Brainstorming if you have not done so already.

Self-test

Which decision-making style is problematic?

TECHNIQUE #1: IMAGE THEORY

Image-theory technique (Beach, 1996; 2008) involves considering your comfort with each alternative. For this decision-making strategy, you ask yourself three questions about each option on your list.

• Is this option compatible with my values? 

                  For example, lying might be an effective strategy in meeting your goals but an option you would not choose because it goes against your values.

• Is this option compatible with my goals? 

                  This question sounds obvious, but decisions are often made without regard to the impact it will have later down the line.

• Is this option compatible with my preferred method of approaching problems? 

                  For example, confronting an authority figure might go against your preferred method of approaching problems.

If you answer no to one or more of the three questions, rule that option out. If you still have options remaining, work through one or both of the other recommended decision-making techniques.

Let’s take an example: Rosalie has decided that her relationship with her current advisor is not working. She considers switching advisors, but after going through the image-theory questions above, she decides to rule this option out. This option is incompatible with her long-term goals. Working with her current advisor allows her to gain experience in the research area she loves. Rosalie also prefers to follow through with what she considers a commitment, so the option of leaving her advisor is incompatible with her preferred method of approaching problems.

TECHNIQUE # 2: SIX HATS

Image theory is one way to think rationally about important life decisions. However, this is not to say that you should ignore your gut reactions to important life choices. On the contrary, emotions are a source of information you can use in analytical decision-making. Pay attention to what your emotions are telling you.

Instead of relying on one decision-making method, psychologist Edward de Bono believes you should evaluate options by trying different perspectives. He developed the “Six Hat” strategy for using different lenses to evaluate your options (deBono, 1985).

White Hat: When “wearing” this hat, focus on gathering facts and information you can use to analyze the costs and benefits of each option.

Red Hat: What do your emotions tell you about this option? Do you get a sick or anxious feeling when you think about executing this particular strategy? Do you know in your gut this decision is what you must do?

Black Hat: What are all of the potential flaws and pitfalls to trying out this possible solution. What is the worst thing that can happen?

Yellow Hat: What is the best possible outcome of executing this strategy?

Green Hat: How can you be more creative about envisioning this strategy?

Blue Hat: Are you under- or overemphasizing one way of evaluating options?

TECHNIQUE #3: DECISION-MAKING USING MAUT

Multiattribute Utility Theory (MAUT; Keeney & Raiffa, 1976) is a systematic, rational decision-making strategy that uses weighted criteria to derive a score for the best option. Although people do not typically make life choices in such an analytical manner, those who do use this strategy have found it useful in accomplishing goals.

Of course, it is important to first have defined clearly what it is that you would like to accomplish. Visit Setting SMART Objectives if you have not done so already.

MAUT is composed of five decision-making steps:

Step 1: Create a list of criteria you will use to evaluate each option.

Remember to list all of the criteria you will be using. For example, if you know you will consider an option only if it does not involve a serious confrontation, list this qualification as a criterion.

Step 2: Organize your criteria from most important to least important.

If you have come up with an option that meets all of your criteria, you probably would not have defined the problem as a problem in the first place. You will need to decide which criteria are most important.

Step 3: Rate each option on a scale of 0 to 10 according to how well the option meets each criterion.

You will want to collect as much information as possible so you can make an educated guess about which option matches which criteria.

Step 4: Multiply the score according to the weight you have assigned to the corresponding criterion.

One way to do this is to count the number of criteria and multiply the score by its reverse placement number.

Step 5: Add up all the scores for each criterion and choose the option with the highest score.

Still not satisfied with this option? Perhaps you are leaving out a criterion. Think about why you are still not satisfied with this option to help you come up with the criterion. 

Add this to the list and redo the scores. Similarly, if two options have the same score, think of another criterion to add to the list.

This technique will make more sense with an example:

A close relative recently passed away. Your family expects you to fly home to India and be part of the mourning process for at least a month. Your boss does not understand this tradition and demands that you return within a week.

Criteria

In this example, the best option is to find a way to get the lab work finished while you are away. If this option does not seem like the best to you, you probably have a different set of criteria and/or a reason to score the options differently. Each person’s matrix will look different.

Hopefully reviewing these decision-making strategies has helped you choose the most promising strategy for meeting your goal. But the problem-solving process is not done yet. 

The next set of CareerWISE Problem-Solving modules (Step 4--Execute and Evaluate) will help you improve your ability to follow through with your decision.

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Delaney, R., Strough, J., Parker, A. M., & de Bruin, W. B. (2015). Variations in decision-making profiles by age and gender: A cluster-analytic approach. Personality and Individual Differences, 85, 19–24. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2015.04.034

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Lent, R. W., Ezeofor, I., Morrision, M. A., Penn, L. T., & Ireland, G. W. (2016). Applying the social cognitive model of career self-management to career exploration and decision making. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 93, 47-57. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2015.12.007

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