Use of a “balance-sheet” procedure to improve the quality of personal decision making: A field experiment with college applicants

Abstract

This study tested the effectiveness of a "balance-sheet" or tallying procedure used to induce high school seniors to think carefully about considerations relevant to their choice of college. Students who were exposed to the balance-sheet procedure three months before their choice of college were compared with a control group six weeks after making their decision. In comparison with control subjects, students administered the balance-sheet procedure tended (though the findings were not always significant at the 0.05 level) (1) to select a wider array of alternatives in formulating the decision, (2) to take into account more self-related and fewer social considerations, (3) to express less regret and report less concern about their choice following the decision, and (4) were less interested in receiving supportive, dissonance-reducing information. The balance-sheet procedure appears to make salient the importance of the decision, helps clarify the merits of the choice alternatives, and stimulates a search for feasible alternatives.