Decision-Making Made Easier

Life is full of decisions – sometimes tough ones– but those decisions can be made easier for informed consumers and savvy marketers.

In this edition of Smith Business Close-Up with the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, Rebecca Ratner, associate professor of marketing, talks about her how people can make better decisions and the ways in which they can be persuaded toward a particular decision.

Prof. Ratner received a Ph.D. in social psychology and incorporates consumer psychology principles in her research and teaching. Her research explores factors underlying suboptimal consumer decision making and focuses on variety seeking, affective forecasting, and the influence of social norms. This summer she will lead a three-day workshop on decision making at the Aspen Institute, delving into how leaders can transform themselves into better decision makers, whether known biases should be exploited for the greater good, the tradeoffs faced when allowing others to make decisions. The session will explore these concepts in the context of real-world applications ranging from fuel-efficient transportation and financial risk decisions, to decisions about organ donations and health.