THE PARADOX OF INDECISION: PSYCHOLOGY IN THE DECISION PROCESS

People encounter many problems in the course of life. These problems need to be solved and solving these problems depends on a decision. Decision-making proceeds as a process and this is cognitive. It emerges with the joint work of mental and psychological functions. Decision making has an important place in human thought systematics. Together with psychological factors and capacities, the human brain has a near-perfect capability and equipment for thinking, judgement and decision-making. In psychology, decision-making is described as a mental process that results in the selection of an opinion or behaviour from among possible options. Whether or not the decision-making event has an effect, it necessarily determines a choice. Decision-making has been analysed from a psychological and brain working perspective and several hypotheses and variables have been evaluated and put forward as influential in this process.   

In the process of making a decision, it is common to be unable to make a choice, to stay between many options. The main reasons for this difficulty in decision-making may include personality, emotions and development. It may include pathological levels of indecision. Reasons such as feeling of inadequacy, anxiety about making a mistake and anxiety in the face of uncertainty are among the factors that cause difficulty in the decision-making process. In the foreground, it is frequently encountered in people who lack self-confidence, and this situation begins to limit and hinder the individual's movements. Indecision may be related to perfectionism. The fear of not being able to finish a job at the level of perfection desired by the individual causes anxiety and thus indecision. This situation is quite common in individuals whose childhood is spent in a protective and controlling family. Not giving the child the right to choose can make it difficult for him/her to express his/her feelings and wishes. The child's inability to express what he/she likes and dislikes and what he/she needs may lead to the development of dependency on his/her parents over time. These children may wish for a lonely, irresponsible and uncritical life in adolescence. Individuals who cannot find shelter in social life and have difficulty in fitting into society tend to have extreme and repetitive thoughts in case of uncertainty. Individuals may fall into doubt and obsessive thoughts at the moment of decision-making. Mood is another important factor in decision-making. For example, an individual who is prone to depressive mood may not want to take risks and think about the future. Consequently, making decisions becomes a great burden for these people.  

Decision-making is a skill that every person has, but this decision-making process is influenced by many factors. It is important because of its difficulty, multidimensionality, responsibility and consequences. One has to make a choice in one's favour and the consequences may be logical or irrational. In our decisions in this choice, when time constraints, risk and uncertainty increase, emotional decisions override logical ones and the environment in which the person exists greatly affects the decision. Making the right and logical decision depends on the stages.   

• What is the problem? :  Problems are situations that prevent the achievement of the goal. It is necessary to recognise the problem, to examine it from many aspects, to draw its boundaries.  
• To learn the origin of the problem: Information, sources and opinions related to the problem or situation should be learnt. Research should be done on why the problem is happening and it should be thought about. A relationship can be established within the information we have obtained here.
•  Analysing and interpreting the information: The information should be grouped together and the information that is not important should be separated. By analysing the information we have obtained, we should try to find the solution to the problem. 
• Selection of a useful solution: Many different alternatives may arise in solving the problem and the most efficient one should be selected.   
• Implementation of the decision: The person should be ready to implement the decision.
• Evaluation of the decision: The decision is analysed to see whether it is efficient or not.  

Regardless of the type of decision or the type of strategy applied, in order to make correct and effective decisions, it is necessary to recognise the decision-making process well, to follow the decision-making processes and to draw conclusions with them. When considering the psychological effects of the decision-making process, the stress, conflict, indecision, dilemma, emotional commitment, social pressure and other effects experienced by individuals emphasise the complexity of decision-making. These influences can occur at every stage of the decision-making process and cause people to show various reactions at emotional, cognitive and behavioural levels. In addition, in the process after decisions are made, individuals may question the correctness of their decisions and face the processes of coping with and evaluating the consequences they experience. At this point, individuals' experiences and learnings can help them manage their future decision-making processes more consciously and effectively.  

REFERENCE

Appel, H., Englich, B., & Burghardt, J. (2021). "I Know What I Like"-Indecisiveness Is Unrelated to Behavioural Indicators of Evaluation Difficulties. Frontiers in psychology, 4042.  

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