During my marketing class last semester, I learned an interesting concept that I’ve been thinking about lately – that of satisficers and maximizers. I did some more research online and stumbled upon a wealth of information on this dichotomy, and specifically how it relates to happiness.
I think it’d be helpful to start with what satisficers and maximizers actually mean. I particularly like the definitions from a blog post by The Happiness Project:
Satisficers are those who make a decision or take action once their criteria are met. That doesn’t mean they’ll settle for mediocrity; their criteria can be very high; but as soon as they find the car, the hotel, or the pasta sauce that has the qualities they want, they’re satisfied.
Maximizers want to make the optimal decision. So even if they see a bicycle or a photographer that would seem to meet their requirements, they can’t make a decision until after they’ve examined every option, so they know they’re making the best possible choice.
An important thing to consider is that most people are a combination of both – they may be satisficers for smaller purchases and maximizers for larger investments, for example. Still, many people may prefer one mode over another. It’s this dominant mode that determines whether they are satisficers or maximizers.
For me, I fall squarely into the satisficer camp in most of my decisions. When I’m looking at a menu at a restaurant, I usually pick the first thing that catches my eye which satisfies my particular craving that day. My criteria have been met and I don’t really care to spend more energy looking at every other option that might also fit my standards and/or have the potential to be the absolute best option.
I realized that one way I feel happy is when I integrate this satisficer mindset into the more trivial things in life, and potentially even some of the bigger decisions. If my criteria for a car, house, or job have been met, do I really need to expend more energy, worries, and time?
Ever notice how a lot of popular restaurants offer very limited menu items? Sure there are ingredients and size of restaurant staff to take into account, but a huge reason is a psychological one – it forces everyone to be satisficers and maximizers at the same time!
If only other choices in life were that simple. But we can control how we see the situation and how we make decisions. Maybe we really don’t need to consider another 20 options and their potential benefits and pitfalls, especially if the end result is going to be the same or very-marginally better. Some food for thought.
Monkey business at www.RandomTidbitsofThought.com.
