Everyone has wrestled at some time or another with a difficult decision.
Uncertainty can arise, for example, when choosing a partner (such as in Dutch TV series ‘Boer Zoekt Vrouw’), when making a decision on a direction in life (choosing what to study) or when managers take decisions with far-reaching consequences (for instance, what to cut back on).
When exactly are decisions difficult?
And why is it important to know this?
The question of what makes a decision difficult is in itself a difficult question.
Many factors play a role, such as the number of available alternatives, the previous knowledge and experience of the person deciding and the quality of the alternatives available.
There is no academic consensus on when decisions should be considered difficult and when not.
It is, however, important to know the answer.
Difficult decisions can lead to stress and to sleepless nights.
People also have the tendency to make other choices when confronted by a difficult decision.
For example, they will choose the relatively ‘safe’ option (when choosing what to study, for instance, they go for a comprehensive or general degree programme).
In his inaugural lecture, Bernard Nijstad will unfold a theory on difficult decisions.
The theory predicts that a decision is difficult if none of the options is clearly better than its alternatives and/or when the best option also has important drawbacks.
The theory will be illustrated by considering the effects of having too wide a choice and the effects of the importance of the decision.
Inaugural lecture: prof. B.A. Nijstad, Tuesday 29 March, 4.15 pm, Academiegebouw, Broerstraat 5, Groningen
Title: Difficult decisions
Expertise: Dicision making and organizational behavior in business and economics
