Imagination and Indecisiveness
One of my mental characteristics is my indecisiveness. I was out earlier and, feeling a sudden craving for a drink, I stopped by a 7-11 to purchase one. I couldn't decide between Dutch Lady's Full Cream Milk at $2.40, a can of milo at $1.75, a packet of milo at $1.30, some fruit juice of various brands in different flavours at various prices, a packet of Vitasoy at $1.10, or some Meiji's milk, so I stood by the fridges for at least 5 minutes, looking and contemplating. Eventually I settled on Meiji's low-fat strawberry-flavoured milk, and on my way home as I consumed the drink I thought of what is the main cause of my indecisiveness.
First we got to note that my indecisiveness is not restricted to the purchase of drinks. It extends quite generally to many aspects of my life. I am indecisive when I play chess; even more so in Weiqi. My first and only game of Weiqi took 4 hours and it wasn't even completed before the CCA time was up. I am indecisive in deciding whether to attend a particular outing. I am indecisive in choosing my exam questions; even more so in choosing which essay question to answer. I am indecisive in whether to go for a jog this day or the next. I am indecisive in whether to send out a particular email or not - this particular one can sometimes drag over days. And yes, though my wardrobe is relatively limited, I am indecisive in what to wear sometimes.
It will be helpful to contrast these cases of indecisiveness to when I am decisive. I am decisive in certain multiplayer computer games. I know exactly what to do in certain situations, and I follow through. I am decisive when the event is a novel and exciting one and where I don't get to meet new people. I am decisive when presented with an extremely challenging or intriguing option - sometimes I decidedly go for that, sometimes I decidedly go for a safer choice.
From these general observations I will venture to say the cause of my indecisiveness is a vivid imagination. Vivid imagination is what makes me indecisive. When I was deciding what drink to purchase earlier, my thoughts didn't drift off to other things. In fact, I was quite intently thinking about the drinks. I was visualizing myself drinking that creamy full cream milk. (And then I got put off by the price tag). And then I imagined the taste of the each and every other candidate. When I settled on one I immediately recalled the other sensation of what it is to drink the other drink. Hence my indecisiveness. The same, I think, can be said for the other cases of indecisiveness as well. Vivid imagination causes my indecisiveness by bringing alternative options to the same level of appeal as any others. This way, even initially unpalatable options can, through the process of vivid imagination, become serious candidates of choice.
(Incidentally, you will note that experiments have shown that giving too many choices to consumers will increase the chances of them not buying anything at all - I got that from Sheena Iyengar's book "The Art of Choosing").
Now, when I play computer games against other players, I don't act indecisively because being under pressure takes away the chance to vividly imagine options. In real life contexts where I act decisively, it is usually the case that one option stands out. But it is not that I don't have time to think about the other options. In fact, I do. It is simply that that one option captures my imagination the most. The others don't. At the same time, it is not that I will always pursue the option that captures my imagination the most. In fact, sometimes I decisively pick the option that least captures my imagination, or at least the one that is not as vivid as the most intriguing one. This is especially the case when past experience has shown that, in similar or relevant contexts where I single-mindedly pursued the most exciting option, I shot myself in the foot. (On the other hand, things do indeed get more complex when I imagine myself taking up the most vivid option and bringing benefits to myself, even though past experience suggests this isn't likely. In such a case I will become indecisive again)
I don't think it's particularly controversial to say one's imagination causes indecisiveness. It won't be the only cause, of course. After all, it is reasonable to think imperfect information causes indecisiveness as well. As far as I'm concerned, I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing either. It just makes me look weird when the cashier notices I have been in the same spot for 5 minutes, looking at the bottles of drinks intently.
First we got to note that my indecisiveness is not restricted to the purchase of drinks. It extends quite generally to many aspects of my life. I am indecisive when I play chess; even more so in Weiqi. My first and only game of Weiqi took 4 hours and it wasn't even completed before the CCA time was up. I am indecisive in deciding whether to attend a particular outing. I am indecisive in choosing my exam questions; even more so in choosing which essay question to answer. I am indecisive in whether to go for a jog this day or the next. I am indecisive in whether to send out a particular email or not - this particular one can sometimes drag over days. And yes, though my wardrobe is relatively limited, I am indecisive in what to wear sometimes.
It will be helpful to contrast these cases of indecisiveness to when I am decisive. I am decisive in certain multiplayer computer games. I know exactly what to do in certain situations, and I follow through. I am decisive when the event is a novel and exciting one and where I don't get to meet new people. I am decisive when presented with an extremely challenging or intriguing option - sometimes I decidedly go for that, sometimes I decidedly go for a safer choice.
From these general observations I will venture to say the cause of my indecisiveness is a vivid imagination. Vivid imagination is what makes me indecisive. When I was deciding what drink to purchase earlier, my thoughts didn't drift off to other things. In fact, I was quite intently thinking about the drinks. I was visualizing myself drinking that creamy full cream milk. (And then I got put off by the price tag). And then I imagined the taste of the each and every other candidate. When I settled on one I immediately recalled the other sensation of what it is to drink the other drink. Hence my indecisiveness. The same, I think, can be said for the other cases of indecisiveness as well. Vivid imagination causes my indecisiveness by bringing alternative options to the same level of appeal as any others. This way, even initially unpalatable options can, through the process of vivid imagination, become serious candidates of choice.
(Incidentally, you will note that experiments have shown that giving too many choices to consumers will increase the chances of them not buying anything at all - I got that from Sheena Iyengar's book "The Art of Choosing").
Now, when I play computer games against other players, I don't act indecisively because being under pressure takes away the chance to vividly imagine options. In real life contexts where I act decisively, it is usually the case that one option stands out. But it is not that I don't have time to think about the other options. In fact, I do. It is simply that that one option captures my imagination the most. The others don't. At the same time, it is not that I will always pursue the option that captures my imagination the most. In fact, sometimes I decisively pick the option that least captures my imagination, or at least the one that is not as vivid as the most intriguing one. This is especially the case when past experience has shown that, in similar or relevant contexts where I single-mindedly pursued the most exciting option, I shot myself in the foot. (On the other hand, things do indeed get more complex when I imagine myself taking up the most vivid option and bringing benefits to myself, even though past experience suggests this isn't likely. In such a case I will become indecisive again)
I don't think it's particularly controversial to say one's imagination causes indecisiveness. It won't be the only cause, of course. After all, it is reasonable to think imperfect information causes indecisiveness as well. As far as I'm concerned, I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing either. It just makes me look weird when the cashier notices I have been in the same spot for 5 minutes, looking at the bottles of drinks intently.
3 Comments:
Hello, i stumbled across your blog. Anyhow, after reading that post it seems to me that perhaps you're not indecisive. You might just be slow to make decisions. Indecisiveness would be to think - wait, why did i buy this milk again after you did.
But you quite intently pictured each choice and slowly thought about it. And considered the price, and in the end were satisfied - or at least that is how it seems :) So maybe to call yourself indecisive is harsh.
It is inherited from your parents!You may want to recall whether they are going through the process as you...:)
Decisiveness (2 options): I'll get chocolate milk. Hm but the strawberry milk looks nice too. Nah I'll stick with chocolate milk. *Buys chocolate milk*
Indecisiveness (2 options): I'll get chocolate milk. Hm but the strawberry looks nice too. What should I get? The chocolate milk. Hm but the strawberry milk is tempting. I think I'll go for the chocolate milk. Hm but I like the strawberry milk. What should I get? Strawberry milk. But the chocolate milk is nice too.
All this while vivid imagination is going on, as the indecisive person imagines the taste and texture of the drink, as well as the pleasure he will get.
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