title: Who are maximizers? Future oriented and highly numerate individuals.
abstract: Two studies investigated cognitive mechanisms that may be associated with people's tendency to maximize. Maximizers are individuals who are spending a great amount of effort in order to find the very best option in a decision situation, rather than stopping the decision process when they encounter a satisfying option. These studies show that maximizers are more future oriented than other people, which may motivate them to invest the extra energy into optimal choices. Maximizers also have higher numerical skills, possibly facilitating the cognitive processes involved with decision trade-offs.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze Psicologiche, Pedagogiche e della Formazione, Università degli Studi di Palermo, Italy.|Department of Psychology, Washington State University, Vancouver, WA, USA.
authors.forename: Raffaella
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Misuraca
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Portland State University, Portland, OR, USA.
authors.forename: Ursina
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Teuscher
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze Psicologiche, Pedagogiche e della Formazione, Università degli Studi di Palermo, Italy.
authors.forename: Floriana Antonella
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Carmeci
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002755:Choice Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D003657:Decision Making / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011340:Problem Solving / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: Decision-making; Maximizing; Numeracy; Time perspective