The Bounded Decision-Making Process

Gasoline powered vehicles are better! No, hybrids are better! Have you heard these two points-of-view? This last election, the question of energy was a part of both party’s platforms. They talked about wind and solar versus coal and oil, and gasoline versus hybrid vehicles. So here we are, the election is over, but the battle between a gasoline powered vehicles versus a hybrid continues. You might know someone who owns a hybrid car. My uncle bought one in 2006 and for him it works great, but he usually just travels back and forth to work. However, my uncle’s needs are not the same as my dad who is a contractor. In the end, you need to weigh the pros and cons before deciding on which vehicle is best for you. After much research,

As the gas price is rising up to 140 cents per litre in Canada, many people switch their vehicle to gasoline-electric hybrid car to gain savings from the better fuel efficiency. Many potential consumers for hybrid vehicle and hybrid vehicle owners think that the hybrid system is worth the extra penny due to better fuel economy. However, the realistic is that it has higher maintenance despite of its outstanding fuel economy figures. In fact, the hybrids cause more environmental damage than conventional petro powered vehicles and there are better alternatives. Therefore, hybrids should not be on consumers’ shopping list due to a numerous negative facts that consumers are unaware of.

“The engine that drives self-justification, the energy that produces the need to justify our actions and decisions—especially the wrong ones—is an unpleasant feeling the Festinger called “cognitive dissonance.” Cognitive dissonance is a state of tension that occurs when ever a person holds two cognitions (ideas, attitudes, beliefs, opinions) that are psychologically inconsistent, such as “Smoking is a dumb thing to do because it could kill me” and “I smoke two packs a day.” Dissonance produces mental discomfort, ranging from minor pangs to deep anguish.” (p.13)

According to Darity (2008), the theory of cognitive dissonance refers to an individual’s conflicting attitudes, beliefs or behaviors, the resulting feeling of discomfort within the individual and the individual’s inevitable desire to reduce the discomfort by changing their attitude, belief or behavior in order to create cognitive consonance and harmony (Fox, 2006; Cognitive Dissonance, 2008; Hershey, Blanchard and Johnson, 2012). A cigarette smoker is a commonly used example of a cognitively dissonant individual. For example, Sarah, smoker may feel the need to quit do to the dangers of smoking but Sarah may also want to smoke because they like the feeling of smoking. Sarah’s attitudes are conflicting and to ease her discomfort she will adjust their attitude to fit the behavior by convincing her that there isn’t enough evidence of the dangers of smoking. Another example is when an individual decides that they don’t want to eat fatty foods in order to lose weight but the individual eats a donut after dinner and convinces themselves that the donut isn’t that fatty.

Thesis statement: it is hypothesized that compared with the gas powered vehicles, hybrids offer more benefits in maintenance, are cost-effective, and most importantly environmental-friendly.

“The cars we drive say a lot about us.” –Alexandra Paul Transportation is a large concern in todays modern world. Most individuals have opted to buy vehicles for their personal use. Most of these vehicles consume gasoline and a smaller proportion is hybrid based. These two types of vehicles have many similarities.

As people, we often presume that the actions displayed by a person are piloted through their individual thoughts and opinions, however, the cognitive dissonance theory (CDT) shows that this is not always the case. Labeled by some as an action-opinion theory, the theory of cognitive dissonance explains how people are compelled to commit actions contrary to their beliefs. The basic principle behind action-opinion theories is that these

The rational choice theory states that people make decisions in a rational but also in a self- interested manner (Class Notes 4/4/2017). Bounded rationality is the theory that when individuals make decisions, their rationality is limited by the information they have as well as the time available to make the decision. The time constraints and lack of full information are what differentiates bounded rationality and the rational choice theory. However, the garbage can model is said to represent most real life organizational decisions as they are random and unsystematic (Class Notes 4/4/2017). This model of organizational decision making is a collection of problems and solutions. The problems look

The focus of this paper is to determine how cognitive dissonance affects our decisions, and how one can reduce the impacts of cognitive dissonance. Cognitive dissonance is a phenomenon which occurs when two cognitions are conflicting. In choosing one option over the other, people tend to question if they made the right decision. There are several strategies to resolve cognitive dissonance. Altering the conflicting cognition, altering the importance of the conflicting cognition and adding additional positive cognitions to outweigh the conflicting ones are ways to resolve cognitive dissonance. The results of these dissonance reduction strategies all typically result in a stronger attribution with the option that was chosen, and the unchosen alternative is more negatively attributed.

- According to cognitive dissonance theory, there is a tendency for individuals to seek consistency among their cognitions (i.e., beliefs, opinions). When there is an inconsistency between attitudes or behaviors (dissonance), something must change to eliminate the dissonance. In the case of a discrepancy between attitudes and behavior, it is most likely that the attitude will change to accommodate the behavior.

There has been a great deal of research into cognitive dissonance, providing some interesting and sometimes unexpected findings. It is a theory with very broad applications, showing that we aim for a

It is regarded as a counterintuitive social theory as it implied that actions influenced attitudes as opposed to the alternative notion, once seen as the more reasonable, (Miller J. L., 2012). His theory of cognitive dissonance is still referenced today in numerous credible and published work either in support of the theory or to suggest revisions, (Dember & Jenkins, 1970) cited from “Cognitive Dissonance Theory” (n.d.), revealing a lasting impact.

The cognitive dissonance theory specifies that inconsistencies in an individual’s thoughts and actions lead to mental tension, dissonance, and cause us to take actions to reduce this dissonance. Actions include either changing the way you think about something or the way you action. The amount of dissonance can vary depending on justification; an unjustifiable causes more dissonance in comparison to acting with a good enough reason, depends how the individual’s morals. In Festinger and Carlsmith’s study, individuals were either given $1 or $20 to state opinions that weren’t consistent with there own. Individuals who were paid $1 had less justification for the inconsistency which lead to higher levels of dissonance. As a result, they were more

A number of hybrid vehicles have been built and tested since 1980. Some of these vehicles have impressed analysts with their performance and low levels of exhaust and petroleum consumption. Interest in hybrid vehicles jumped in late 1993 with the announcement of funding for

As the United States unite in the global effort to monitor the use and waste of energy, fuel efficient or hybrid cars such as the Toyota Prius has dominated the market over the SUV’s who once adored every American driveway. With much doubt, in 2004, the Prius has become the leading selling vehicle in America. The sleek design has caught the eye and pockets of many Americans who prefer the “gas sipper” over the “gas guzzler.” (Kotler & Armstrong, Principles of Marketing, 2010)