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Are you a satisficer or a maximizer?

Ginevra

By Ginevra,
in The Chat Board

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Satisficer? Or Maximizer?  

205 members have voted

  1. 1. Are You a Satisficer or Maximizer?

    • Mostly a satisficer. Good enough is good enough.
      77
    • Maybe half-and-half. For some things, I do the maximizer thing.
      46
    • More a maximizer. It nags me for days if I think I did not make the best choice...even if it's just a book I put on my Kindle.
      77
    • I have no insight into my motives. Who cares? When's pizza ready?
      5
    • The OP is crazy.
      0

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Ginevra

Ginevra

Posted
Posted

I'm reading The Paradox of Choice. I find this subject endlessly fascinating anyway - I'm weird like that! :laugh: It talks about how and why people make the choices they make. He goes into discussing "maximizers" vs. "satisficers." Maximizers need to believe they are making the best available choice and will hesitate or experience buyers' remorse often, especially if they had to choose quickly and without adequate research. Satisficers may, in fact, have a lot of criteria as well (they could still be selective), but once they discover the item that matches all or most of their criteria, they can comfortably choose that item without wondering about unknown possibilities.

 

OMG I am SUCH a maximizer!!! :laugh: This explains me so well, it was like he watched me try to buy things and then wrote about it! He even talked about a maximizer's tendency to consider the lifestyles they did not choose and fantasize about them. I do that ALL the time! I vicariously live through House Hunters International, just because I want to think about what it would be like to up and move to New Zealand or Italy or South Africa!

 

So, which are you? Any good stories? :coolgleamA:

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mytwomonkeys

mytwomonkeys

Posted
Posted

i'd have to read the book to say for certain. but based on your description, i'd say i'm a satisficer. once i have made a decision, i no longer worry about the the "what if" possibilities. i don't daydream about what could have been. now as far as moving, traveling, doing, or experiencing something, i'm an achiever. if i want to learn something, go somewhere, own something, see something, etc. i make a plan to attain it...and then i set out to do it, never worrying if i missed a better plan. :)

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nono

nono

Posted
Posted

So, story.

 

Picking out a wedding veil. I had a general idea of what I wanted. My Mom and I went out to a row of specialty shops to try to find the right veil. First place had one with which I was quite pleased. It was the first one I put on. I bought it. My Mother fought me tooth and nail on it. I tried on two more in the same shop. Still liked the first one and thought it was a fair price. DONE.

 

We were off to an early lunch in the city. She was sooooo miffed. I, at 23, had the ability to ask her what her problem was...It turns out she was rushed into choosing her veil, and never liked it. She was probably more of a maximizer than I; she's probably middle-of-the-road. I am a total satisficer. If something meets my internal criterion -- heck I'm done. Once my Mom knew where I was coming from, she relaxed and we had a lovely lunch and shared a bottle of wine, which to me, was a much better spend of my time than poking around other stores to see if I had "the best" veil. :)

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Onceuponatime

Onceuponatime

Posted
Posted

I am a mix. With most everyday things of a variable and impermanent nature, I am a satisficer. With things that I will have to face year after year, day after day, I am a maximizer. For example, if I am choosing a winter coat that must last or a piece of furniture that won't be replaced for a long time, I will not purchase it until I am absolutely sure it is the one I want. I used this principle when choosing my husband as well. :D

 

If I am rushed and have to make a quick decision about something very important to me, I question my decision for a long time. When I have taken the time and effort to find the perfect whatever, I get immense pleasure out of my decision for years. I must say, though, that I usually have a good idea of what I want, I just have to find out if it exists first. Sometimes If I don't feel that "zing" I keep looking, trusting that I will know what I want when I see it. That rarely fails me.

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Guest

Guest

Posted
Posted

 

 

Complete maximizer. But to a fault. Even with the research and such. Still. Can't. Move. Asks for help. Then argues. Always. With the opinion that was solicited!

 

 

I loved your story! If you were my dd, I would probably be having a stroke that you picked the first one.

 

In the book, he doesn't speak that favorably about the maximizer type, for the reason you state. (Well, maybe not arguing about the opinion, but the can't-move-ahead part.) A maximizer (like me) is slow to make a decision, hampered by the concern that a better option is available but not yet discovered.

 

You should see how long it takes me to buy something substantial, like a sofa, a car or a mattress. (2 of those 3 items are still on my "eventually, I'll buy it" list because I'm not sure about the option I expect to pick. :tongue_smilie: )

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Dandelion

Dandelion

Posted
Posted

I'm about half and half. It really depends on the type of choice.

 

For choices related to most buying decisions and smaller day-to-day choices, I'm more of a satisficer.

 

For choices related to lifestyle and other major non-buying decisions, I'm definitely a maximizer.

 

Interesting topic! :)

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Guest

Guest

Posted
Posted

Here's a story: Just a few days before I read about this maximizer/satisficer thing, I was looking in the Kindle Store. There is a book called The Nothing that Is and it is a book about the history of the number zero. I have looked at, but not downloaded that book no less than 3 previous times over at least the past year, maybe longer. This most recent time, I was reading the reviews. Some mentioned that there is another book about zero, Zero: The Beginning of a Dangerous Idea. So, now I'm stuck. This one might be better. I read reviews for both for about 20 minutes, weighing the different comments about each book. I finally realized how crazy I was being about this one dang book! You would think I was laboring about whether to deploy nuclear warfare. I dl'd the first book, on the "snap" criteria that I heard of that one first, so it's probably fine. :bored:

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fraidycat

fraidycat

Posted
Posted

I chose 50/50 but I'm probably more 80/20 or 90/10 Satisficer to Maximizer.

 

Most things I make my decision and go with it. There are a few that I stumble over for longer periods, research endlessly, or experience buyers/deciders remorse. I can't think of any stories at the moment, though - aside from trying to decide on curriculum? I'm a Maximizer there. Always searching. Wondering. Looking for the best.

 

Some of my mottos seem to be:

 

"Meh, good/close enough."

 

"What's done is done - no use worrying about it now."

 

"Lesson learned."

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Barb_

Barb_

Posted
Posted

I read that book a couple of year ago (Paradox of Choice...obviously we have the same taste in books and should compare notes) and at the time I was a total Maximizer to the point where I would deliberate for days and weeks over the dumbest things. Thanks to recognizing myself, I still research and I won't buy anything without at least a peek at the reviews to make sure they aren't horrible, but I save my agonizing for big ticket items (say, over 75 bucks). I really enjoy the research, and I think I use it as a foil for my natural impulsivity. Also, as an ENTP I think my T and my P work together to ensure I'm never completely relieved of the habit.

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Jeannie in NJ

Jeannie in NJ

Posted
Posted

I think I am a maximizer. I do horribly with too many choices. I can actually become paralized with too many choices. I prefer to only have 2 choices, even then it takes me forever to decide. In each place we go out to eat, I always get the same thing (for each particular place) as I am afraid if I get something new, I will not like it and regret that I did not order my usual. Is that wacky or what?

 

Picking out paint colors when we redid our entire interior was torture, I just ended up letting my dd pick out everything.

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Guest

Guest

Posted
Posted
I think I am a maximizer. I do horribly with too many choices. I can actually become paralized with too many choices. I prefer to only have 2 choices, even then it takes me forever to decide. In each place we go out to eat, I always get the same thing (for each particular place) as I am afraid if I get something new, I will not like it and regret that I did not order my usual. Is that wacky or what? Picking out paint colors when we redid our entire interior was torture, I just ended up letting my dd pick out everything.

 

I do that with restaurants, too. The more expensive the restaurant, the more paralyzed I am to "risk" a different meal. :tongue_smilie:

 

I'm going to have to get that book! Is there a book to help recover from being a Maximizer? I find myself questioning decisions YEARS later. Sometimes being a Maximizer is a positive and at other times it can be exhausting. Elise in NC

 

I think the next part of the book is going to talk about "minimizing" some of your maximizing tendencies.

 

You're right - I am sometimes SO happy that I do not purchase quickly because when I do decide, I will probably be happy with a choice that I researched...errr, to death. :tongue_smilie: But other times (like my Kindle over-analysis), it's clearly silly.

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Shamzanne

Shamzanne

Posted
Posted

Oh, man. I am such a maximizer. It reaches across all areas of my life. In fact, one of my goals for the year is to be able to put a reasonable amount of research into a decision instead of laboring over each possible option.

 

One of the worst things is choosing a recipe - I don't have a ton of extra $$ but love to cook so I laboriously pour over every possible method and review of a certain meal before I spend the money for ingredients.

 

Something I think is funny - I am not one to accept compliments from other people very graciously (the INTJ in me) but I can recall three or four times I was told that I am a good (or well-educated) consumer. I was instantly able to accept the compliment because I know it is true. I must read that book!

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UrbanSue

UrbanSue

Posted
Posted

nono, the very first wedding dress i i tried on, i purchased it, lol. it met my criteria. i was done!

 

 

I was going to write the same thing. I think it was the second one I tried on but the shop owner was, like, "but . . . but . . . it's non-refundable . . . please try on some more!"

 

I would never buy that dress today but I loved it at the time and it was a great choice for me.

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Word Nerd

Word Nerd

Posted
Posted

I'm more of a Maximizer (and not just because I think Satisficer is a weird name). ;)

 

I don't fret over little things for the most part, but I was rather annoyed with myself when I was looking for my iPad cover and could not decide which one to buy. I get caught in analysis paralysis more often than I would like. I sometimes have buyer's remorse after making a decision unless I can choose more than one option, but it doesn't last long.

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Amira

Amira

Posted
Posted

Satisficer married to a maximizer here. It slays me to watch him agonize over routine choices and take inordinate amounts of time to make decisions with absolutely no "right" choice, such as what color to make business cards.

 

 

Same here, except I also spend an inordinate amount of time listening to the what ifs.

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regentrude

regentrude

Posted
Posted

Satisficer. If it is an important enough purchase that I do research beforehand, I objectively determine the best product that fits my criteria, buy, and never look back.

For example, once I have found curriculum that I like and that works, I am completely immune to exploring other options and will not read on curriculum threads.

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jewellsmommy

jewellsmommy

Posted
Posted

I am sooo a maximizer. I researched for weeks over the perfect breadmaker and then still worried if I chose the right one. I had an all out panic attack after buying our car. I called dh crying that we could still return it the day after even though I put a ton of research into it. I fret over curricula. I research, read reviews, choose it and then go back periodically to see if there is something else that I missed. You should watch me grocery shop. :lol:

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Jenny in Florida

Jenny in Florida

Posted
Posted

I am a mix. With most everyday things of a variable and impermanent nature, I am a satisficer. With things that I will have to face year after year, day after day, I am a maximizer. For example, if I am choosing a winter coat that must last or a piece of furniture that won't be replaced for a long time, I will not purchase it until I am absolutely sure it is the one I want.

 

I'm similar, I think.

 

Most of the time, if the item I'm selecting isn't a "once-in-a-lifetime" or even a once-a-decade purchase, I poke around until I find something that works well for the price I'm willing to pay, obtain it and get on with my life. I am rarely unhappy with those choices in the long run. In my family, I'm always the one who gets impatient while the rest of them wander the Christmas tree lot examining every tree, because my theory is that they all look beautiful once you get them home and put on your own ornaments. I feel the same way about rental homes/apartments: As long as it meets our basic needs, I don't really care about the details. I've lived a lot of places and been happy in most of them.

 

For bigger things -- cars, for example -- I research, shop, test, look some more, do some more research, until I find what I think I want. Then, I have to go through the whole process at least a couple more times, comparing what I think I've chosen to every new possibility until I'm really, really sure. After I make those choices, I frequently second guess them. For example, I pined for two years for a MINI Clubman, hinted, begged, spent hours on the website building my custom virtual vehicle. Finally, when it was time to get a car, my husband wanted to pop right over to the MINI dealership and order it. Instead, I spent several weeks comparing and test driving every other vehicle even vaguely in its size and price point before putting down the deposit and placing the order. Two weeks before it was due to arrive, I panicked and tried to cancel. My husband talked me down. Within a year of owning the car, despite the fact that I loved owning and driving it, I was convinced I had made a terrible mistake, because it wasn't practical for our family. I drove it for another year before insisting I had to replace it with something larger that had four doors, and I started the entire research/test drive/compare process all over again with a new set of criteria. I eventually chose a car, and we traded in the MINI. Within six months, I was unhappy again. I missed my MINI desperately, hated the automatic transmission I had settled for in the name of getting everything else I wanted in my price range, disliked the color, etc. Since I had talked myself out of being allowed to have a MINI, even once we decided it wasn't unacceptable to consider trading in the second car, I had to begin all over with research . . . A few months later, I chose my third car in four years (at least used that time), which I still don't love. I'm forcing myself to hang onto it for at least three years this time, but I still get wistful whenever I see a MINI like mine on the road.

 

On the other hand, moving across country? I made those decisions virtually at the drop of a hat and have never regretted one move.

 

So, it doesn't seem to be directly related to permanance or financial cost, whether I go into satisfice or maximize mode.

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ElizabethB

ElizabethB

Posted
Posted

The book sounds interesting. (Also the zero books: I would read both, but I read fast.)

 

My husband and I are both INTPs and are both a mix. Interestingly, we have bought and rented houses quicker than cars at times. We compared and researched cars for 7 years while fixing up our old cars before buying a car. Then, a few months later, we bought a house after a day or two of looking.

 

It depends on how much we care about the thing more than the price...we move a lot, we will most likely spend more time deciding and researching on a house we plan to live in for a while. I planned our whole wedding in a 3 day weekend but have agonized over small things at times. I usually don't think about the decisions once they are made. I do sometimes think about what I should have said or not said in a conversation, however. Before I developed food allergies, I did sometimes regret my restaurant food choices, especially if someone else's looked yummier than mine. Now I am more concerned with the allergy avoidance than alternate choices.

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swellmomma

swellmomma

Posted
Posted

I am a bit of both depending on what it is but more of a satisficer over all. Still selective and perfectionist of somethings (such as teh floor I was installing, I thought a peice looked wrong so I pulled it all apart and started over when I was already 1/3 of the way all the done and knew I could not be satisfied with it the way it was) but mostly once I make a decision I am content with sticking with it and having peace with that decision.

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SunnyDays

SunnyDays

Posted
Posted

Quill, the book definitely sounds interesting. I'd kind of like to get it but I don't know... I'll need to read the reviews first, and maybe see if there's anything out there that might be a better option... or if that's what I'd even really LIKE to read about right now, because you know, there are a lot of things I could be reading... :leaving: :rofl:

 

Yeah, I'm a bit of a maximizer. :D

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mom2att

mom2att

Posted
Posted

If you are a maximizer, are you also a perfectionist? I am definitely neither--"good enough" is my mantra, so sign me up for the satisficer side. DH, on the other hand, takes a great deal of time to research anything that he purchases and sometimes won't make a purchase at all because in his opinion there ISN'T one "good enough." He's also a perfectionist, so I'm wondering if these two traits generally go hand in hand . . .

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