Maximizers and Satisficers: Can't choose and Can't reject

摘要

Decision-makers show a status-quo bias when they cannot relinquish status quo selections. Maximizers tend to be regretful and indecisive, while satisficers tend to be content. Does this mean that maximizers will show a larger status-quo bias than satisficers? Could the reverse occur? To answer these questions, we study the ways in which the moderating effect of the maximization trait on the choose-reject status-quo bias (choosing few options but also rejecting few) is itself moderated by three contextual factors: information load, counterfactuals, and mood. Our results show that, compared to each other, both maximizers and satisficers show a larger choose-reject status-quo bias under compatible contextual factors. Maximizers do so when information load is high (study 1), and satisficers do so when experiencing a downward counterfactual (study 2) and positive mood (study 3). We believe that compatible contextual moods amplify the influence of maximization trait moods and drive our effects.