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Heuristics used for decisions involving multiple objectives 21
your aspiration level such that you fall back on what is now seen as
an acceptable alternative or are forced to accept a job offer that is less
desirable than a job you earlier refused as unsatisfactory. Note also that
satisficing is yet another example of a non-compensatory strategy. In the
job search example, there were no considerations of how much holiday
you would be prepared to give up for a given increase in salary. The
final choice also depends on the order on which the alternatives present
themselves. If you are searching for a car to buy, the car you choose will
probably be different if you decide to change the order in which you
visit the showrooms.
Simon’s satisficing theory is most usefully applied to describe sequential
choice between alternatives that become available (and indeed may
become unavailable) as time passes; however, it may also be adopted
in situations where, although all the alternatives are in theory available
simultaneously, the alternatives are so numerous that it would be
impossible in practice to consider them all in detail.
Reason-based choice
Reason-based choice offers an alternative perspective on the way people
make decisions. According to Shafir et al. 8 ‘when faced with the need
to choose, decision makers often seek and construct reasons in order
to resolve the conflict and justify their choice to themselves and to
others’. Reason-based choice can lead to some unexpected violations of
the principles of rational decision making.
First it can make the decision maker highly sensitive to the way a
decision is framed. For example, consider the following two candidates,
A and B, who have applied for a job as a personal assistant. Their
characteristics are described below:
Candidate A Candidate B
Average written
Excellent written
communication skills
communication skills
Satisfactory absenteeism record Very good absenteeism record
Average computer skills Excellent computer skills
Reasonable interpersonal Awkward when dealing with
skills
others
Average level of numeracy Poor level of numeracy
Average telephone skills Poor telephone skills
Note that candidate A is average or satisfactory on all characteristics,
while in contrast B performs very well on some characteristics, but