Is Maximizing a Bad Thing?

Abstract. Maximizing Tendency is a decision style characterized by holding a higher standard for one’s decision. Initially, this style had been linked to negative life outcomes (e.g., decision regret, life dissatisfaction, depression), but recent studies have begun to show the opposite. In this study, we argue and test the proposition that relations between maximizing and future-oriented outcomes can be explained by future-oriented thinking. Results show that maximizers are more likely to consider the future consequences of their current actions. In turn, maximizers intend to save more, have more savings, show a greater concern for guiding the next generation, and are less likely to engage in temporal discounting behaviors. The study concludes that maximizing can be a beneficial decision style due, in part, to its impact on future-oriented thinking, and adds to a growing literature suggesting that maximizing can, in fact, be a good thing.