Decisions

At dinner recently my parents called to my attention an article in the New York Times from last week. In it, an experiment is described, the results of which prove that it is better to make a decision than to keep one's options open.

You can read it in detail here, but if you don't feel so inclined, I will try to sum up. Basically, the study asked people to pick between 3 doors on a computer screen. Behind each door was a different amount of money which the subject would get by clicking the number (they really did get paid). The amount changes after each click but it is possible to determine which door has the highest yield by clicking on all 3. The optimal strategy is to figure out what door wins you the most money and then stick with it. But that is not what people do. They go back to the other doors. They leave their options open even though they are the poorer for it.

The moral of the story is, make up your mind! You'll be better off. But for me, and a whole bunch of other people it sounds like, this is easier said than done. Because what if I make the wrong choice? I would much rather put off deciding until the last possible moment just in case some new information comes to light.

When I think about it though, I realize that not deciding is a stressful strategy. By leaving one's options open, the need to make a decision is always on the table. Therefore, if you're me, you continue thinking about it, worrying about which way to go until the very last second. Even if you know the chances are good that nothing will change if you make up your mind a little earlier, you can't stand to pick one because seeing that other door close will be too hard. Ugh. I totally hate making decisions.

The relaxing strategy is the non-intuitive one. Just pick something. And perhaps the freedom from the stress of deciding is the equivalent of the real money behind door #3.