Individual strategy preferences and decisional fit

Abstract

The present research introduces the concept of decisional fit. A decision maker experiences decisional fit when the individually preferred decision strategy fits the actually applied strategy. In accordance to other fit-concepts in psychology (e.g., person-environment fit), we expected positive effects of decisional fit. Five studies examine the effects of a fit between the individual preference for intuition and deliberation (PID) and the actually used decision strategy (intuition or deliberation). A comparison of extreme types (according to participants' values on the PID scale) revealed that decisional fit enhances the perceived value of the chosen or evaluated object (Studies 1-3). In Studies 4 and 5, participants experienced less regret after decisional fit. The findings highlight the importance of considering individual differences when comparing intuitive and deliberate decision making, because strategy preferences interact with applied strategies. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.