The question of contentment, Schwartz says, boils down to whether you are a maximizer or a satisficer.
A maximizer needs for every decision or every purchase to be the very best that could possibly be made. It “creates a daunting task, which becomes all the more daunting as the number of options increases.” After making a selection, a maximizer can easily be plagued by doubts about whether or not the very best thing was purchased.
The satisficer is someone who settles for something that works — something that is good enough — without fretting over whether or not there is something better. “A satisficer has criteria and standards. She searches until she finds an item that meets those standards, and at that point, she stops. As soon as she finds a sweater that meets her standard of fit, quality, and price in the very first store she enters, she buys it — end of story. She is not concerned about better sweaters or better bargains just around the corner.”
Even though there are certain areas where making the very best choice is needed, someone who fits Schwartz’s definition of a maximizer is likely in for a life with lots of dissatisfaction.
So, how do you know which you are? He suggests a quick test. You write a number from 1 (completely disagree) to 7 (completely agree) for each of his questions.
1. When I’m faced with a choice, I try to imagine what all the other possibilities are, even ones that aren’t present at the moment.
2. No matter how satisfied I am with my job, it’s only right for me to be on the lookout for better opportunities.
3. When I am in the car listening to the radio, I often check other stations to see if something better is playing, even if I am relatively satisfied with what I’m listening to.
4. When I watch TV, I channel surf, often scanning through the available options even while attempting to watch one program.
5. I treat relationships like clothing: I expect to try a lot on before finding the perfect fit.
6. I often find it difficult to shop for a gift for a friend.
7. Renting videos is really difficult. I’m always struggling to pick the best one.
8. When shopping, I have a hard time finding clothing that I really love.
9. I’m a big fan of lists that attempt to rank things (the best movies, the best singers, the best athletes, the best novels, etc.).
10. I find that writing is very difficult, even if it’s just writing a letter to a friend, because it’s so hard to word things just right. I often do several drafts of even simple things.
11. No matter what I do, I have the highest standards for myself.
12. I never settle for second best.
13. I often fantasize about living in ways that are quite different from my actual life.
Schwartz found that maximizers take longer to compare and decide on most purchases, they tend to look over their shoulders at what others are deciding, and they are much more likely to later regret what they did.
He and his fellow researches also have found that maximizers “experienced less satisfaction with life, were less happy, were less optimistic, and were more depressed than people with low maximization scores. In fact, people with extreme maximization scores — scores of 65 or more out of 91 — had depression scores that placed them in the borderline clinical depression range.”
And that’s why this is so important.
One student can hardly enjoy his education. He agonized about which school to go to, concerned to get in the very best one possible to up his chances for later getting into the very best law school. After deciding late in the game, he insisted on the very best classes with the very best teachers. Now he worries that he made the wrong decision — about which school and about one or two of his classes.
Another student, sitting right next to him, is having a blast. He, too, had high standards for his education. But once his decision was made, he went with it. He’s glad to be where he is and knows he’s preparing for the future.
One investor aches every time she reads an article about some Vanguard fund that is outperforming her mutual stocks. She keeps hearing about people whose money is doubling quicker than hers. So she drives her investment person crazy, constantly changing investment strategies — perhaps not even realizing the fees involved every time she changes.
Another investor has her funds in the same place, but she doesn’t obsess about it. She thoroughly investigated, having decided on certain standards and a certain strategy, and then went with it. Now, even though she continues to pay attention, she doesn’t obsess. She enjoys watching the money grow.
A maximizer is often wondering if there isn’t a better gift, a better church, a better doctor, a better vitamin, a better health club, a better cable option . . . . It isn’t just about high standards; it’s about a sense of discontentment (fueled, perhaps by concern for social status and the explosion of options).
“For a maximizer, the overload of choice . . . is a nightmare. But for a satisficer, it does not have to be such a burden. In fact, the more options there are, the more likely it is that the satisficer will find one that meets his or her standards. Adding options doesn’t necessarily add much work for the satisficer, because the satisficer feels no compulsion to check out all the possibilities before deciding.”
Tomorrow: happiness, contentment, and relationships.
Oh great! Now one more thing to worry about!
I did some remodeling a couple of years ago and the contractor learned rather quickly to give me 3 or 4 choices… not the entire catalog. Too many choices stress me out! What if I make the wrong choice?!
I would be happy if I could just learn to be content!
This set of ideas has practical implications for pastoral work, and the stakes seem awfully high. One has in mind the Hippocratic ideal of “first, do[ing] no harm.”
Imagine that a woman in your church appears to be reaching the end of her physical rope under the oppression of an eating disorder, and her physical and psychic systems are slowly but perceptibly shutting down. You have options, but because of the psychic dimension of the oppression, every one of them threatens also to push her over the edge. You and an army of her friends have prayed - hard and consistently - for her deliverance, but to no apparent avail. Now, you feel you must act, even though you personally have no expertise in the clinical matters. So many choices, and the stakes are so high…a satisficer moves in a direction that seems right but ends up making matters worse, while a maximizer is paralyzed and gets nowhere.
This is the nightmare scenario that wakes me up nights. Who am I to be making others’ lives a laboratory for experimenting with my own faith?
qb
Ouch. I took the test and found out I’m a Maximizer — to the max! But I don’t want to stay on this blog too long because I need to look for another blog…that might be a bit better. : )
Thanks, Mike. I needed this perspective — to help me relax and be content in the Lord. And not try to make this imperfect world into something it can never be.
I like these two verses along the lines of maximizer/satisficer:
If they obey and serve him, they will spend the rest of their days in prosperity and their years in contentment. (Job 36:11)
But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. (1 Timothy 6:6-10)
Peace.
Two summers ago I worked with some students on research in this area. We expanded Schwartz’s maximizing and satisficing into the “religious marketplace” (e.g., people who try to look for the “best” church, or “best” worship, or “best” preaching). Our results mirrored Schwartz: These people were much less satisfied with church and tended to switch churches more often. By contrast, “religious satisficers” just picked a church, settled in, and went to work. And were much happier.
I’m a saticficer & my husband is a maximizer (I know this w/o even taking the test!) We’re learning to meet in the middle! I think a balance between the two is healthy.
i think there may be a trust issue in there somewhere.
Well, now that I’ve had some time to look at the questions, I guess I go from 1 extreme to the next. Isn’t contentment somewhere in the middle? What’s the happy medium called (in the above scenario)?
This reminds me of Paul talking about how he has learned to be content in all circumstances. I strive to be that way…but that is a daily struggle-I seem to fluctuate between these two.
Maybe this comes from my perfectionist tendencies (a whole other quiz), but if we really took this quiz on this scale (both numbers being completely disagree) we would be very confused-I think 7 is supposed to be agreeing
Did not want anyone to be confused…is that maximizing? Dang it…
Oops, Katherine. Nice catch. I’ve edited the text. No, that’s not maximizing. It’s just a kind reminder to PROOFREAD before publishing.
Mike,
I’m trying to decide what I think about your post. Do you know what Boone is thinking? I looked over my shoulder but all I see is a sermon needing writing.
Oh well, I’ve gotta run. I’m trying to find a better blog to comment on…
This is so true….Seems like the American way is that of discontented Maximizing….another failing way to fill that God-shaped hole in our hearts.
I’ll be looking forward to the relational tie tomorrow.
I’m not sure, but I think that depression and anxiety can often lead one to be a maximizer which appears to me to be the precursor to obssesive/compulsive disorder. I have watched my husband fall into this trap. Maximizing is a defense mechanism designed to distract the victim from inner turmoil; if he can concentrate on making the right choices, then he doesn’t have to think about deeper issues. He’s always on the run.
Cindy
Hmmmm 3 and 4 will get most of the men who read this. Not my Steve, but a lot of men.
Another satisficer married to a maximizer here… It certainly makes the decision-making process interesting, to say the least.
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