For each of the following eight questions, circle your level of agreement using the following scale:1
1 = Strongly Disagree
2 = Disagree
3 = Neither Agree Nor Disagree
4 = Agree
5 = Strongly Agree
Total your score for the eight items. Your score can range from a low of 8 to a high of 40.
If your total is 28 or higher, you are on the maximizing end of the scale. If your score is 18 or lower, you are on the satisficing end of the scale.
Maximizers need to be assured that every decision is the best that can be made. In contrast, satisficers seek solutions that are good enough.
Maybe the most important prediction that we can make about these two different approaches to decision making is that maximizers are more susceptible to regret.2 That is, they are more likely to feel sadness or remorse over a previous decision. Why is that? Because, regardless of what choice they make, they often fret that maybe another choice would have been better. They think about “what could have been.”