How Simple Math Can Help You Buy Choices

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Just five steps will make it easy to make a decision and avoid the pain of choosing anything.

The agony of choice

"There are so many things I cannot choose!" - we often think when we need to buy something. It doesn't matter what - a printer, a coffee maker or a sofa. Nowadays, in an era of huge choice, we spend hours reading reviews and comparing models. We waste time, get annoyed, quarrel with loved ones. We regret that we chose the wrong one or at the wrong price. How many times have we said to ourselves: “Eyes run wide! There would be two options, I would choose and not suffer. " Indeed, in times of shortage, our mothers did not know these torments.

Of course, not everyone suffers that way. Satisficing & Maximizing, one of the most famous theories of behavioral economics, divides people into two types of choice behavior:

• Satisficer (S) comes to the store, sees the right thing, estimates the cost and buys. And he does not regret it. I came, saw and bought.
• Maximiser (M) buying, for example, a phone will turn into a whole story. He will read reviews on the forums. Examines the assortment of several stores. He will set up a couple of dozen filters on Yandex. Market, receive several hundred options with a price gap of several thousand and a couple of dozen sellers. And if he shows willpower and does not rush about in search, then regrets on the topic “he should have looked more” are guaranteed to him.

Sound familiar? If you are M and are in agony when choosing a tablet, spend many hours picking wallpaper, and buy shoes with tears in your eyes, then read on.

5 easy steps to making a decision

Decision theory offers many methods for finding the best option out of many. One of them is a multi-criteria decision-making model based on ranking criteria and evaluating alternatives. Its simplified version will help optimize the selection process.

1. Analyze desires, select criteria, discard the inappropriate

Imagine that you are an inexperienced parent and you need to choose a stroller for your child. Decide which stroller characteristics are important. For example, you need large wheels so as not to get stuck in snowdrifts. Not a wide model, as there is a narrow elevator in the house. Low weight. The criteria can be different: color, compactness when folding, availability of additional accessories.

Let's say you have chosen the following criteria: permeability, weight and cost. Set cut-off thresholds, for example, cost no more than X rubles, weight no more than Y kilograms. Then you are left with only suitable options, such as A, B, and C.

2. Determine the rating scale for each criterion

Rate options for each criterion. For the criterion "weight" the rating scale and scores may look like this:

• 5 - the lightest stroller;
• 4 - light enough;
• 3 - medium;
• 2 - heavy.

For the criterion "cost":

• 5 - cheap;
• 4 - inexpensive;
• 3 - medium;
• 2 - dear.

For the criterion "passability":

• 5 - large wheels;
• 4 - medium wheels;
• 3 - small wheels.

Next, rate the strollers for each criterion. Let the stroller A be with large wheels, very expensive, lightweight (scores: 5, 2, 5). Stroller B also has large wheels, average cost, heavy (scores: 5, 3, 2). C - medium wheels, inexpensive and lightweight model (ratings: 4, 4, 5).

For clarity, you can present the data in the form of a table:

	Evaluation criteria (criterion index)
Alternative	Passage (3)	Cost (2)	Weight (1)
A	5	2	5
B	5	3	2
C	4	4	5

3. Distribute the criteria according to the degree of importance

Give the most important the highest index, the least important the lowest.

Obviously, if an inexpensive stroller does not ride well in the snow, then the choice does not suit us. Therefore, the criteria hierarchy might look like this:

• No. 1, the most important is cross-country ability, we assign weight 3;
• No. 2 - cost, weight - 2;
• No. 3 - lightness, weight - 1.

4. Calculate the final grade for each option

Multiply the index of each criterion by the score for that criterion and add the numbers obtained. The final estimates will look like this:

• A: (3 × 5) + (2 × 2) + (1 × 5) = 24;
• B: (3 × 5) + (2 × 3) + (1 × 2) = 23;
• C: (3 × 4) + (2 × 4) + (1 × 5) = 25.

5. Analyze the result

It turns out that the best option is C, since it received the highest mark. This stroller is worth buying for inexperienced parents in order to calmly walk on unclean sidewalks and, if necessary, easily throw it into the trunk.

conclusions

The described method is applicable for any household needs. With its help, you can choose everything that can be appreciated: an apartment, a car, a tie to your father on February 23rd. The criteria for an apartment, for example, will be: cost, number of rooms, proximity to work, renovation. For a car: cost, fuel consumption, acceleration to 100 km / h, trunk volume. For a tie: color, cost, material, pattern.

It may seem to some that the method is complicated, but you just need to get used to using it. There are only five actions, while the model is flexible, you can increase or decrease both the number of alternatives and the number of criteria.

Of course, it can happen that the soul does not lie to the result obtained. Then you can choose the second highest rated option. Or add criteria and follow all steps again. The main thing is that you will be spared from tossing, frustration and wasting time.