Simple trick you can use to help make better decisions, according to a neuroscientist
Topics: Psychology, Health, New York, US News, Life
Liv Bridge
Featured Image Credit: NYU / Getty Stock Images
Topics: Psychology, Health, New York, US News, Life
Making decisions can be difficult but one neuroscientist has revealed one simple trick that will revolutionize your life choices.
Decisions, decisions, decisions. They rule out everyday lives, from the big deal stuff like relationships and jobs to the mundane, such as what to cook for dinner or what to wear to a party.
Making decisions can be difficult for a myriad of reasons, like fear of making the wrong choice while strong emotions can sometimes influence how we feel in the moment.
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As the famous American psychologist and philosopher William James once said: "There is no more miserable human being than one in whom nothing is habitual but indecision."
Indeed, grappling with indecision can leave many of us feeling paralyzed as even the most simple tasks can become arduous to sign-off on.
Fortunately, Paul Glimcher, a New York Professor of Neuroscience and Physiology from Massachusetts, has revealed there is a simple strategy we can all pick up to start making wiser choices.
His 2022 research paper titled 'Efficiently irrational: deciphering the riddle of human choice', discusses how people struggle to answer questions or solve problems when asked to pick between more than four options.
Glimcher says this is because we can lose sight of what to do when comparing every option - even if a part of us already knows the best answer.
According to the study, a process called 'divisive normalization' is used to weigh out the pros and cons of a decision based on the informational context for 'maximal efficiency per action potential in decision systems'.
For instance, if you're presented with six candy bars, the neuroscientist said that your favorite candy might send a 'lesser signal' to your brain because it's being 'sucked down by just the existence of other candy bars', which in your mind, are a much worse choice, CNBC reports.
Speaking at the Fast Company Innovation Festival last month, the professor further explained: "If I ask you to take away the worst candy bar, then your next-worst candy bar ... [eventually] you’re getting more and more confident about what the best option is.”
And while that might seem like an obvious answer, Glimcher says it'll help better mitigate 'decision fatigue' when it comes to making everyday decisions - though he added to CNBC that it also marginally increases it, too.
Experts also stress other factors can be an influence, as AMA suggests that time of day, developing habits, and seeking medical assistance can also help alievate 'decision fatigue'.
According to Glimcher, 'picking the best and eliminating the worst' is what humans are 'just good at', as our brain can have a strong reaction to what it finds more attractive - it's pretty self-explanatory.
However, it becomes less simple if there are too many options to choose from.
An overload of choice presents a new challenge as while the decisions are easier, the process takes longer as there are more decisions to be made.
Using the analogy of a monkey choosing between two cups, Glimcher says it's more challenging to distinguish between the amount of neurons firing off in your brain, so the brain avoids this by reevaluate the offers presented to find 'the new choice', The Atlantic reports.
He continued: "When we get into modern circumstances where large companies are producing huge numbers of options for us to choose among ... it has a huge effect on your performance.”