Military maximizers: Examining the effect of individual differences in maximization on military decision-making



Shortland, Neil, Alison, Laurence and Thompson, Lisa
(2020) Military maximizers: Examining the effect of individual differences in maximization on military decision-making. PERSONALITY AND INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES, 163. p. 110051.

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Abstract

The present study investigates the role maximization plays in explaining individual differences in decision-making in high-uncertainty situations. There is a wealth of evidence that maximization affects decision-making, yet the types of decisions that have been studied have been consumer-focused. Despite the known importance of maximization, the boundaries of maximization have not been explored. This research extends the study of maximization by evidencing that individual differences in maximization influence decision-making with a sample of military personnel (n = 287) when they make both military (domain specific) and non-military (domain general) decisions. Furthermore, taxometric analysis allowed the researchers to explore the latent structure of maximization, identifying that it can also be conceptualized as a categorical (rather than a traditionally continuous) variable. Overall, high maximizers found decisions more difficult, were slower to choose an option and decide. These findings are in accord with a wealth of previous research on the effects of maximization, but demonstrate that the effect of maximization extends to applied decision-making with applied samples who make decisions in high-uncertainty situations. These findings have important theoretical implications for the study of maximization and the study of decision-making under uncertainty, as well as applied implications for issues such as personnel selection.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: Maximization, Decision-making, Uncertainty, Individual differences, Taxometric
Divisions: Faculty of Health and Life Sciences
Faculty of Health and Life Sciences > Institute of Population Health
Depositing User: Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited: 22 Jul 2021 08:31
Last Modified: 18 Jan 2023 21:35
DOI: 10.1016/j.paid.2020.110051
Open Access URL: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2020.110051
Related URLs:
URI: https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3130923