Decision-making Styles Research Articles

The Role of Personality Traits and Decision-Making Styles in Career Decision-Making Difficulties

Career decisions are one of the most important decisions individuals make in their lives. These decisions are multifaceted and complex, making them a challenging process, particularly for students. This creates obstacles for students navigating the career choice process. The aim of this study is to examine career decision-making difficulties within the framework of personality traits and decision-making styles. The target group of this study is undergraduate students studying at a public university. For this research, we collected data through online questionnaire forms. The questionnaire comprised demographic questions and three scales: career decision-making difficulties, personality traits, and decision-making styles. A total of 505 students (63.2% female) participated in the questionnaire. The research model was tested using path analysis. We also conducted network analysis in order to better understand and visualize the relationships between the sub-dimensions of the scales. The findings showed significant direct relationships between career decision-making difficulties and personality traits (conscientiousness, openness, neuroticism, and agreeableness) and decision-making styles (rational, dependent, avoidant, and spontaneous). According to the path analysis result, neurotic personality traits were positively correlated with career decision-making difficulties, while openness to experience, agreeableness, and conscientiousness were negatively correlated with them. The relationship between dependent, avoidant, and spontaneous decision-making styles and career decision-making difficulties was positive. These results provide valuable insights into the factors that shape career decisions, helping students make more informed choices and manage their career paths effectively.

Decision-making styles and cognitive biases: Experimental results from a Korean sample

Decision-making styles and cognitive biases: Experimental results from a Korean sample

Influence of oncology nurses' decision-making and personality traits on missed nursing care and related factors: a correlational study.

ObjectivesTo identify Missed Nursing Care (MNC) and related factors, as well as analyze the influence of nurses’ decision-making and personality traits on MNC in two Portuguese hospitals dedicated to cancer care. MethodsA cross-sectional, multicentric, descriptive-correlational study was conducted using a convenience sample of 298 nurses working in two hospitals dedicated to cancer care. Data were collected in the first semester of 2023 using a questionnaire that included sociodemographic and professional questions and the Portuguese versions of the MISSCARE Survey, the Nursing Decision-Making Instrument (NDMI-PT), and the Ten-Item Personality Inventory (TIPI-P). ResultsNurses missed care occasionally, namely in the dimensions related to Patient empowerment/autonomy care and Efficacy of feeding and medication. Staffing, Patient volume and acuity, and Management and organization were moderate to significant reasons for MNC. The flexible decision-making style was predominant (81.5%). The most prevalent personality traits were Conscientiousness, Agreeableness, and Openness to experience. Significant correlations were found between the four stages of the decision-making process and the personality traits and several dimensions of MNC. Data collection to assess a patient’s condition was negatively correlated with Team communication and Material resources. Similarly, the Emotional stability trait was negatively correlated with Team communication and Patient volume and acuity. ConclusionsThis study identified MNC and factors that can influence the quality of care. It is crucial to promote nurses’ training and specialization within healthcare teams, with a particular focus on enhancing some of their personality traits to make them more effective and efficient therapeutic agents.

Decision-Making Styles, Prosociality, and Behavioral Difficulties in Adolescent Offenders: The Mediating Role of Life Satisfaction and Emotional Experiences.

Research on adolescents suggests that decision-making styles, emotional experiences, and life satisfaction play a crucial role in emotional and behavioral difficulties and the development of prosocial behaviors. This study analyzed the relationship between decision-making styles, prosociality, and difficulties among adolescent offenders, as well as the mediating role of life satisfaction and emotional experiences in this relationship. A total of 457 adolescents aged from 14 to 19 years (M = 16.23; S.D. = 1.31; 32.2% female) participated in this study. The variables of interest were assessed using self-reports and descriptive, reliability, correlational, predictive, and mediation analyses were performed. A significant association was found between the study variables. Non-rational decision-making styles and negative emotional experiences influenced difficulties, whereas rational decision-making, life satisfaction, and positive emotional experiences influenced prosocial behavior. Furthermore, the results show that the relationship between rational decision-making and prosocial behavior is mediated by life satisfaction, emotional balance, and positive emotional experiences. Similarly, negative emotional experiences mediated the relationship between a hypervigilance decision-making style and emotional and behavioral difficulties. The results of this study indicate the importance of intervening in decision-making styles, emotional management, and life satisfaction in offending adolescents to decrease behavioral and emotional difficulties and favor prosocial behavior.

The Mediating Role of Strategic Intelligence in the Relationship Between Administrative Creativity and Decision-Making Styles in Jordanian Universities

Objective: The study aimed to identify the mediating role of strategic intelligence in the relationship between administrative creativity and decision-making styles in Jordanian universities. Method: To achieve the study's goal, the predictive descriptive approach was used through the design of a research tool that included three main axes: strategic intelligence, administrative creativity, and decision-making styles. This tool was distributed to faculty members in Jordanian universities, with a total of 346 participants. Results: The study results showed that the level of strategic intelligence among department heads was high. Additionally, it revealed that administrative creativity skills were also high. Findings: The findings further indicated that department heads predominantly used rational decision-making styles compared to other styles. Moreover, strategic intelligence was found to mediate the relationship between administrative creativity and decision-making styles.

Mind in others' shoes: Neuroscientific protocol for external referent decision awareness (ERDA) in organizations.

This study investigates the neural and physiological mechanisms underlying External Referent Decision Awareness (ERDA) within organizational contexts, focusing on hierarchical roles (Head, Peer, Staff). Twenty-two professionals participated, and electroencephalographic (EEG frequency band: Delta, Theta, Alpha, Beta, Gamma) and autonomic indices (skin conductance and cardiovascular indices) were recorded, while personality traits and decision-making styles were assessed. Results revealed higher Delta and Theta activation in the left temporo-parietal junction (TPJ) during Peer-related decisions, reflecting increased social cognition and ambiguity regulation in those contexts. Gamma activity, associated with high-order cognitive processes, was prominent in the left frontal cortex across all roles, indicating complex decision evaluation. These findings underscore the complexity of low-frequency bands (Delta and Theta), involved in emotional regulation and social cognition, while high-frequency bands (Gamma) reflect cognitive integration and decision complexity. Furthermore, autonomic data showed higher Skin Conductance Levels (SCL) for Head decisions, suggesting greater emotional involvement.The findings revealed a significant negative correlation between avoidant decision-making styles and the neural and behavioral evaluations of leader decisions, suggesting reduced engagement of neurocognitive systems involved in reward processing and evaluative judgment in individuals with a tendency to avoid decision-making. Additionally, higher extraversion correlated with more favorable evaluations of decisions made by Staff, potentially indicating greater activation in neural circuits associated with social reward and group dynamics. In conclusion, these findings suggest that neural activity and personality traits interact to shape hierarchical decision-making awareness, highlighting the need for tailored leadership and decision-making strategies in organizations.

Conceptual framework of coaches' decision-making in conventional sports.

A coach's managerial and pedagogical tasks in the sports training process constitute the substantive core of their work, while decision-making serves as the fundamental method underpinning these tasks. Some decisions made by coaches result from deliberate, analytical thinking, which involves extensive information gathering, analysis, and discussion. Others, however, are made quickly and spontaneously, triggered by unforeseen situations during training or competition that demand immediate action. Consequently, the purpose of this study is to develop a conceptual framework for understanding coaches' decision-making behavior in conventional sports. This framework aims to establish appropriate relationships between the various decisions coaches make during the training process and theoretical concepts related to decision-making, both in general and within the coaching context. To design the research, we used the methodology of a conceptual paper and a "model paper" approach, which seeks to build a theoretical framework that predicts relationships between distinct research concepts and scientific disciplines, aiming to integrate them into a cohesive model of coaches' decision-making behavior. The proposed conceptual framework encompasses a comprehensive range of situations that may arise during the sports training process and potential ways to address them. This framework identifies different types of decisions and characteristics associated with coaches' decision-making behavior. It incorporates various sport-specific and general theories of decision-making and cognitive functioning to offer a deeper understanding of how coaches process and execute decisions in diverse contexts. The developed conceptual framework outlines three primary types of decisions-strategic, tactical, and operational-each playing a distinct role in the broader sports training process. These decisions are based on different cognitive processes, which manifest in varied decision-making behaviors and are reinforced by specific leadership styles. The practical value of this framework lies in its potential application for selecting appropriate experts to address the diverse decision-making scenarios encountered in sports training. This ensures the alignment of decision-making styles with the requirements of specific training situations, thereby enhancing the effectiveness and outcomes of the coaching process.

Strategic learning self-efficacy, strategic decision-making style, and environment as determinants of firm growth

Strategic learning self-efficacy, strategic decision-making style, and environment as determinants of firm growth

Roadside Dining: The Collective Movement Behavior of Sulawesi Moor Macaques in a Provisioning Context.

How group-living primates come to a consensus about navigating their environment is a result of their decision-making processes. Although decision-making has been examined in several primate taxa, it remains underexplored for primates living in anthropogenic landscapes. To shed light on consensus decision-making and flexibility in this process, we examined collective movement behavior in a group of wild moor macaques (Macaca maura) experiencing a risk-reward tradeoff as a result of roadside provisioning within Bantimurung Bulusaraung National Park in South Sulawesi, Indonesia. Our goal was to determine whether individual characteristics (e.g., sex, dominance rank, and/or social network centrality) predict the likelihood of initiating a collective movement and if the opportunity to receive food provisions along the road alters these patterns. Using the all-occurrences method, we recorded the location, time, and identity of initiators and followers of each collective movement observed from April to June 2023 (N = 61). We used conditional logistic regression models to examine which individual characteristics predicted initiation overall and based on two destination categories: forest- and road-directed collective movements. Initiation was distributed amongst most of the group, indicating a partially-shared decision-making style. Overall, adult males were more likely to initiate collective movements than adult females. However, for collective movements directed toward the risky roadside, dominance, rather than sex, was a better predictor of initiation, with higher ranked individuals being more likely to initiate collective movements. Examining the decision-making processes in this species through collective movements can provide insight into how primates come to a consensus and the extent to which anthropogenic factors shape these processes. By shedding light on how moor macaques navigate the risk-reward tradeoff at this site, our results can also inform the management of human-macaque interfaces.

Psychometric Validation of the Melbourne Decision Making Questionnaire in the Population of Bangladesh

Decision-making styles play an important role in overcoming the everyday challenges we face. Therefore, it is essential to have a psychometrically sound assessment tool to assess the decision-making styles we use. This study aimed to validate the MelbourneDecision-Making Questionnaire (MDMQ) in Bangla language and cultural context, addressing the lack of available measures for assessing decision-making styles used by the Bangladeshi people. In this study, data were collected from a sample of 300 university students (age mean = 21.20 years) who were selected using the convenience sampling technique. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the four-factor correlated model, as found in the original study. Discrimination indices of items in both classical test theory and item response theory approaches suggested that items could effectively discriminate between low scorers and high scorers in each subscale. Differential item functioning test results showed no preference for a specific gender. Each subscale significantly correlated with Big Five personality traits and life satisfaction. Overall, the results suggest the MDMQ Bangla as a psychometrically sound tool to assess decision-making styles used by Bangladeshi adults. This measure has practical utility for researchers and mental health practitioners, enabling a deeper understanding of decision-making styles among Bangladeshi people, their antecedent factors and their impact on daily life. Bangladesh Journal of Psychology, Vol. 24, December 2024, pp. 61-80

Leader’s management decision-making style and emotional intelligence of higher education students studying in the speciality “Law Enforcement”

Leadership qualities are a complex set of cognitive properties, personal qualities and behavioural skills. It is relevant to study how the leader's style of decision-making and emotional intelligence abilities are related to future law enforcement officers. The empirical study involved 40 higher education students studying in the senior years of the Military Law Institute of the Yaroslav Mudryi National Law University, specialising in law enforcement. The following psychodiagnostic techniques were used: the questionnaire “Assessment of Management Decision-Making Styles” and the test “Emotional Intelligence”. Statistical processing of the data was carried out using Spearman’s rank correlation and Mann-Whitney U test. Three styles of managerial decision-making were identified in the surveyed cadets: 35 % had a conniving style, 25 % had a marginal style, and 20 % had a situational style. The other participants of the study did not have a leading style of managerial decision-making. It has been found that the highest level of emotional intelligence is in the group of respondents with the style of managerial decision-making “indulgence”, and the lowest level of emotional intelligence is in the group of cadets with the situational style of managerial decision-making. It has also been revealed that a leader with developed emotional intelligence is not focused on emphasising his or her status as a leader, but, on the contrary, provides a certain freedom of action to his or her subordinates. It has been noted that the developed components of emotional intelligence are important, but not decisive, for making managerial decisions by future law enforcement officers. The developed emotional intelligence of a leader contributes to his/her choice of such poles of managerial decision-making as “liberal” and “production of a problem situation (decision-making situation)”. A leader’s developed emotional intelligence is to some extent related to self-confidence, high motivation to achieve, and responsibility for the actions of subordinates. It has been suggested that in the process of psychological training future law enforcement officers should develop such a component of emotional intelligence as understanding of emotions, which increases the likelihood of favourable options for making managerial decisions by leaders.

A study of c-suite leaders’ individualistic and collectivistic decision-making styles: elaborating on leaders’ efficacy during crises

PurposeThis study investigated leaders’ decision-making during crises. Using grounded theory research, we explored whether leaders’ use of either individualistic or collectivistic decision-making styles is based on the context of a crisis. In addition, the authors looked into the components of building leaders’ efficacy during a crisis event and gauged their attitudinal and behavioral reactions to the crisis.Design/methodology/approachThe authors conducted interviews with 30 C-suite executives during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic to determine their responses to crises. The authors then used open, axial, and selective coding to examine their data, which was then extracted for representative themes and overarching dimensions. In total, The authors received 12 major themes largely summarizing into 6 overarching dimensions – context of decision-making, leaders’ efficacy, individualistic approach to decision-making, collectivistic approach to decision-making, process of decision-making, and outcomes.FindingsThe research presents a decision-making framework clearly bifurcating situations with the need for individualistic and collectivistic decision-making. While, a high level of urgency and scarce resources encouraged leaders to adopt an individualistic approach in which most of the decisions were intuition-based and only high-level stakeholders were involved, the less time urgent and uncertain situation allowed leaders to put significant effort into building their own knowledge systems and involving others. In addition, leaders’ efficacy is understood in terms of their attitudes, readiness and reactions, which further elaborated upon their knowledge systems to allow them to excel in decision-making irrespective of the approaches they chose.Originality/valueThe research has implications for leaders in the decision-making roles to be effective during both individualistic and collectivistic decision-making.

Rational and Intuitive Decision-making Styles, Critical Thinking Dispositions and Associated Factors of Nurses

Rational and Intuitive Decision-making Styles, Critical Thinking Dispositions and Associated Factors of Nurses

Iowa Gambling Task performance in individuals with schizophrenia: the role of general versus specific cognitive abilities

ObjectiveWe aimed to explore how specific cognitive processes, such as attention and executive functions, account for variance in decision-making measured by Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) performance among individuals with schizophrenia spectrum disorders.MethodsAdults (N = 65, Mage = 25.4) with schizophrenia spectrum disorders participating in a clinical trial (registered at clinicaltrials.gov NCT03048695) completed the IGT, neuropsychological tests of attention, response inhibition, mental flexibility, working memory, and planning, as well as subtests from the Wechsler tests of intelligence to estimate IQ. Associations between performance on specific tasks, a composite score of executive function and attention, and IGT performance measured in two ways, one using the total net score, decks (C+D) – (A+B) and the other as preference for decks with more frequent gains than losses, decks (B+D) – (A+C), were analyzed with correlational and hierarchical regression analysis controlling for estimated IQ and psychotic symptoms, measured by the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale.ResultsIn the regression analyses, the strongest predictor of IGT performance measured as the total net score was estimated IQ (b = 1.43, p <.001). Neither specific cognitive tasks nor the composite score of executive functioning significantly contributed to explaining variance in IGT total net score beyond IQ and symptoms of psychosis. However, IQ and symptoms of psychosis did not predict tendency towards selecting decks with different gain-to-loss frequency, whereas poorer composite executive functioning predicted a pattern of selecting decks A and C with more frequent losses, (b = 8.30, p <.05).DiscussionThe results suggest that both IQ and executive functions contribute to IGT performance, but in distinct ways. Whereas lower IQ may contribute to overall more disadvantageous decision-making, poorer executive functioning may contribute to a more risk-aversive decision-making style. A clinical implication may be that individuals with schizophrenia and lower IQ or poorer executive functioning will have a higher need for support and interventions targeting decision-making.

Dancing with strangers: a dyadic view of university-industry research collaborations

ABSTRACT We seek to advance the understanding of the relational challenges that divergent organisations face in innovation-driven research collaborations. Building on the institutional logic perspective, we identify university-industry research collaborations (UIRCs) as inter-organisational relationships (IORs) between organisations with diverging institutional logics. Applying the actor-partner interdependence model, we study 98 dyadic UIRCs in South Korea and find that universities and companies’ collaboration outcomes are positively related only to their own perceived behaviour and not to their partners’ behaviour. This study highlights the need for dyadic research design to understand perceptional gaps in such IORs. For the management of innovation-related UIRCs, our findings imply that while the actor’s perceived outcomes can be enhanced by converging the collaborators’ decision-making styles, the actor’s outcomes may not be improved or adversely effected by the partner’s behaviour unless the partner’s perspective is internalised in the mindset of the actor.

A Systems Approach to Identify and Explain Family Forest Owners’ Technical Options. The Link with Labor Organization, Decision-Making Styles and Timber Sales

A Systems Approach to Identify and Explain Family Forest Owners’ Technical Options. The Link with Labor Organization, Decision-Making Styles and Timber Sales

Individual Characteristics and Operator Dependence Behaviors in Human-Automation Interaction: An Exploratory Study

Understanding the impact of operator characteristics on human-automation interaction (HAI) is crucial as automation becomes pervasive. Despite extensive HAI research, the association between operator characteristics and their dependence on automation has not been thoroughly examined. This study, therefore, examines how individual characteristics affect operator dependence behaviors when interacting with automation. Through a controlled experiment involving 52 participants in a dual-task scenario, we find that operators’ decision-making style, risk propensity, and agreeableness are associated with their dependence behaviors when using automation. This research illuminates the role of personal characteristics in HAI, facilitating personalized team interactions, trust building, and enhanced performance in automated settings.

Relationship between dominant decision-making style and creativity of nursing managers: A cross-sectional study

ObjectiveThis study aims to investigate the connection between dominant decision-making style and creativity among nursing managers.BackgroundThe dominant style of decision-making nursing managers use definitely affects the quality of decisions. Also, in another way, it can develop a skill of creative thinking that may influence the entire health care system.MethodsData from 229 nursing managers in four university hospitals were gathered using a cross-sectional study methodology and questionnaires about general decision-making styles and managerial creativity.Resultsnursing managers are highly creative. In general, the dominant decision-making style is rational and is correlated positively with creativity. Dependent style is the second one, while it is correlated negatively and significantly with creativity. Intuitive style is the third one and correlated negatively but is insignificant with creativity. Regression analysis revealed that only three styles have an effect on creativity: rational (positive), dependent (negative), and avoidant (negative), respectively.ConclusionThe most dominant style is rational, which has the highest effect, which is positive on creativity. The dependent is the second dominant style and has a negative effect. Whereas intuitive is the third dominant style and did not have any effect on creativity.

Behaving with style: investigating the influence of decision-making styles on the innovative work behavior of managers

PurposeThis paper explores the relationship between managers’ decision-making style (DMS) and innovative work behavior (IWB). Our study addresses a notable gap in existing research, as the relationship between DMS and IWB has been unexplored.Design/methodology/approachWe rely on data from a sample of managers from diverse companies in Kosovo to test our hypotheses. We use structural equation modeling for data analysis, and as a complementary test, we perform a necessary condition analysis.FindingsManagers who adopt rational and intuitive decision-making styles tend to demonstrate higher IWB, whereas those who favor dependent, avoiding or spontaneous decision-making styles behave less innovatively. Rational style is a necessary but not sufficient condition for IWB of managers.Practical implicationsThe innovative work behavior of managers is significantly influenced by their decision-making style. Based on this relationship, our research can contribute to decision-making training, personnel selection and development, career planning and organizational innovation initiatives.Originality/valueOur study is the first to investigate the relationship between decision-making styles and innovative work behavior with a sample of managers. Furthermore, it is the first study to investigate the stylistic determinants of the innovative work behavior of managers in a non-Western context.

Assessing public a priori acceptance of fully automated vehicles using an extended technology acceptance model and importance-performance analysis

Fully automated vehicles (FAVs) are anticipated to enter the passenger vehicle market soon. Given the uncertainties surrounding user adoption of this emerging technology, research is needed to understand their user acceptance. While most studies on the acceptance of automated vehicles have been conducted in upper-middle-income or high-income developed countries, similar research in middle-income countries is limited. This study aims to evaluate a priori acceptance of FAVs in a middle-income developing country by extending the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). Trust, subjective norms, perceived safety risk and four decision-making styles (Thoroughness, Hesitancy, Social resistance, and Perfectionism) were included in the extended model. This study aims to evaluate a priori acceptance of FAVs in a middle-income developing country by extending the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). Trust, subjective norms, perceived safety risk and four decision-making styles (Thoroughness, Hesitancy, Social resistance, and Perfectionism) were included in the extended model. Structural Equation Modeling was applied to confirm model validation by using data from 1026 drivers from different cities in Iran. A multi-group analysis was conducted to assess whether the relationships between model constructs vary across different demographic and background groups. Additionally, an importance-performance analysis was performed to gain a deeper understanding of the factors influencing behavioral intention. The findings of the model highlighted that beyond the original TAM scales, subjective norms were the strongest predictor in explaining drivers' intentions to use FAVs. Initial trust also moderately contributed to explaining user acceptance of FAVs. The results also revealed that among decision-making styles, thoroughness positively affected behavioral intention through trust, while social resistance had an indirect negative effect on intention. The findings showed that effect of the perceived safety risk on behavioral intention through the initial trust was confirmed; however, importance-performance map analysis revealed that a significant improvement was observed in the safety area that could still be obtained. It is suggested that policymakers start promoting the usefulness and ease of use of FAVs through advertisements, social media, public campaigns and autonomous vehicle test ride events to facilitate the adoption of FAVs when available in countries with similar sociocultural contexts.