Origins of the distinction
Simon argued that people rarely have the time, information or computational ability to optimise, so they settle on options that meet a threshold. Later, Barry Schwartz and colleagues proposed that people differ in how strongly they are inclined to pursue the best.
Better choices, less satisfaction?
Schwartz's research linked maximizing with lower happiness and greater regret. A related study of job-seeking graduates found that maximizers secured higher starting salaries yet felt worse about their outcomes. The idea helps explain why more choice is not always welcomed.
Disputes over measurement
Researchers have questioned the original scale, noting that some of its items mix high standards with the distress of decision making. When maximizing is defined simply as holding high standards, the link with unhappiness weakens or disappears. So the result may depend on what is being measured, and not simply on the desire for the best.
Further reading
- Simon, H. A. (1956). Rational choice and the structure of the environment. Psychological Review, 63, 129-138.
- Schwartz, B., Ward, A., Monterosso, J., Lyubomirsky, S., White, K., & Lehman, D. R. (2002). Maximizing versus satisficing: Happiness is a matter of choice. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 83, 1178-1197.
- Diab, D. L., Gillespie, M. A., & Highhouse, S. (2008). Are maximizers really unhappy? The measurement of maximizing tendency. Judgment and Decision Making, 3, 364-370.