Examining behavioral processes in indecision: Decisional procrastination and decision-making style

The present research examined the behavioral processes by which individual differences in decisional procrastination are reflected in decision-making style. It was hypothesized, on the basis of previous research suggesting th at people higher in decisional procrastination have a higher threshold for certainty before making a decision, that participants higher in decisional procrastination would not only take longer to complete the task, but also w ould seek more information about an alternative eventually chosen before ma king a decision. Participants, who had previously completed a decisional pr ocrastination scale, were instructed within a behavioral process paradigm t o search information about alternative choices on a decisionmaking task inv olving the selection of college courses. The number of dimensions (four vs six) and number of alternatives (two vs five) were systematically varied. T he results provided convergent evidence with descriptive studies suggesting that rather than being unsystematic and easily distracted in their informa tion searches, people higher in decisional procrastination are systematic a nd strategic but search for more information specifically about chosen alte rnatives. Theoretical and practical implications are considered, (C) 2000 A cademic Press.