In situations that are less dramatic and more irrelevant, individuals may instead choose to use a coin flip to delegate the choice to randomness or to avoid being responsible for implementing inequity. The authors focus on the finding that for trivial decisions a coin flip is considered an efficient and fair means of making decisions, but when the outcome is more important, a decisive coin toss becomes less acceptable, as this approach seemed to conflict with traditional ideas about argument-based rationality and personal responsibility of the decision maker. In this context, Keren and Teigen investigated individuals’ willingness to toss a coin in situations of indeterminacy, where there are no decisive arguments that favor one alternative over another. In this classic situation, the outcome of the coin flip determines the decision, and individuals cannot decide on their own.
Throughout two studies we demonstrate that using a decision-making aid with random outcomes, such as a coin flip, strengthens feelings and results in impressions of suddenly knowing what individuals want in the first place.Ĭoin flips or other decision-making aids with random outcomes have been studied before, but in a more classical situation such as the old standing practice in soccer games to determine which team will play the first half of the game on which side and who will kick the ball first. In this manuscript, we investigate this interesting phenomenon and put it to the test. Apparently, flipping a coin may be more than a decider that shoulders the burden of choice by suggesting a random outcome, but may affect feelings that help individuals to decide on their own. 58% of participants indicated that the coin toss elicited a feeling, such as tension or excitement (32%), but they also reported having felt happy or sad (21%)–depending on the outcome of the coin toss. In a short survey that we conducted via Clickworker, all 31 participants were familiar with flipping a coin to make a decision, and 87% indicated that they themselves had applied that strategy in the past. However, sometimes individuals report a curious phenomenon when looking at the outcome: Despite having been undecided before, suddenly, they experience a feeling of liking or disliking the outcome and use this feeling to decide on their own.Įxperiencing sudden feelings regarding the outcome of a coin flip is not an unfamiliar phenomenon. By determining the meaning of heads and tails and by flipping the coin, individuals can easily come to a decision. In some of these cases, individuals might try to find a solution for their dilemma by using a simple random outcome decision-making aid such as a coin. Some are clear-cut, and allow for easy decisions, whereas for others individuals may be torn between options. Individuals face a multitude of decisions every day. Implications of these results for research and practice are discussed. Here, participants report that after having used a catalyst, they experienced a stronger feeling of suddenly knowing what they want compared to the control group that did not use a catalyst. Study 2 replicates this finding using a different catalyst, and rules out alternative explanations. Study 1 indicates that using a catalyst leads to stronger feelings.
We provide support for this phenomenon throughout two studies. By imagining obtaining the option, feelings related to the option become stronger, which then drive feelings of satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the outcome of the decision aid. As it points to one option over the other, individuals focus on obtaining this option and engage in a more vivid representation of the same. In this manuscript we argue that such a decision aid can function as a catalyst. Instead when looking at the outcome, individuals sometimes appear to like or dislike the suggestion, and then decide according to this feeling. Such aids lead to clear suggestions, which, interestingly, individuals do not necessarily follow. When individuals are undecided between options, they may flip a coin or use other aids that produce random outcomes to support decision-making.