One instant tip for better decision-making

Did you know that the average human makes over 600 decisions a day? This becomes a little more evident when you consider “what time should I wake?” and “do I have time to stop for coffee?” as decisions. These decisions are, of course, trivial—and are often made without much thought. However, what about when the stakes are higher and you begin to make more significant decisions, such as regarding potential business deals? Often times, we do not have the luxury of time—so we must frequently make snap judgments. Unfortunately, the risks of a bad decision may be great—so it’s important to take whatever steps we can to improve decision-making quality.

Fortunately, new research from Psych Central provides some insight into a novel mechanism that is effective at improving response accuracy. In particular, in the first experiment, the research participants were randomly shown moving dots on a monitor and had to judge as quickly or as accurately as possible in which way were the dots overall moving. In the second experiment, participants did the same, except they were given between 17 and 500 milliseconds to respond.

What was found, as explained by Dr. Tobias Teichert, was that:

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By delaying decision onset — simply by doing nothing — you are more likely to make a correct decision.

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While the finding may sound obvious, many individuals do not effectively take time delay decision-making. So, the next time you are under pressure to make an important decision with limited time constraints, try to consciously work in a pause—even if for only a few seconds. Your decision-making success rate may substantially improve.

For an in-depth review of the experiments and conclusions drawn, please see the original article at Psych Central.