Personal Narrative: The Five Stages Of Decision-Making

Danny walks through a crowded grocery store in search of peanut butter. He has finally elbowed his way through the masses to isle seven. Behold, the peanut butter! As he looks up and down the shelves, he cannot decide between creamy and chunky. He knows that he likes both, but both look so appealing that he is frozen and cannot make a final decision. He is caught in what Barry Schwartz, professor of psychology at Swarthmore College, recognizes as “paralysis.” So how could Danny have bettered himself so that he could have made a decision and finalized his choice? How could he have avoided this episode of paralysis? Preparation and a clear combination of many different thought processes would have helped to do the trick. Most of the time, I am Danny. I know that purple is my favorite color, but if you held up a green shirt in front of me next to a purple shirt, I would still drag out choosing which shirt I wanted. And then I would have to decide if I would actually wear the shirt, whichever one I chosen. And even still, I would have to decide if I would want to spend my hard

First, there is Appraising the Challenge and the concern is: Are the risks serious if I don’t change? Second, there is Surveying Alternatives. The concerns are: Is the salient alternative an acceptable means for dealing with the challenge? and Have I sufficiently surveyed the available alternatives? Third, we have Weighing Alternatives, with the concerns being: Which alternative is the best? and Could the best alternative meet the essential requirements? Forth is Deliberating about Commitment, with the concern: Shall I implement the best alternative and allow others to know? And finally fifth is Adhering despite Negative Feedback. This comes with the concern: Are the risks serious if I don’t change? and Are the risks serious if I do