Maximizing decision-making style and hoarding disorder symptoms
Background: Past research links hoarding disorder (HD) to indecisiveness and difficulty with decision-making. However, it remains unclear what contributes to difficulty making decisions in HD. Decision-making research suggests that some individuals have a maximizing decision-making style (seeking th...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2020-08-01
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| Series: | Comprehensive Psychiatry |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0010440X20300298 |
| _version_ | 1819025048072093696 |
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| author | Michael G. Wheaton, PhD Kimberly Topilow, MA |
| author_facet | Michael G. Wheaton, PhD Kimberly Topilow, MA |
| author_sort | Michael G. Wheaton, PhD |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: Past research links hoarding disorder (HD) to indecisiveness and difficulty with decision-making. However, it remains unclear what contributes to difficulty making decisions in HD. Decision-making research suggests that some individuals have a maximizing decision-making style (seeking the best option through an exhaustive search of all existing alternatives) while others “satisfice” (choosing options that are satisfactory even without seeing all options). Past work has linked the dispositional tendency to maximize in decisions to elevated depression, anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) symptoms, but no study has investigated whether maximizing may be relevant for hoarding behaviors. Method: We administered measures of hoarding behaviors, decision-making style (maximizing vs satisficing), generalized difficulty with decision-making (indecisiveness), distress (depression, anxiety and stress symptoms) and OCD symptoms to a sample of community adults (N = 1113) recruited through Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk). Results: The tendency to maximize in decision-making was significantly correlated with hoarding symptoms (including difficulty discarding possessions, excessive acquisition, and clutter). Moreover, regression results showed that maximizing predicted hoarding severity after controlling for indecisiveness, general distress and OCD symptoms. Limitations: We utilized self-report questionnaires in an unscreened community sample. Replication in a clinical sample is needed. Conclusions: The dispositional tendency to maximize in decisions may represent a specific aspect of decision-making relevant for hoarding behaviors. Implications for improving cognitive-behavioral models and treatments are discussed. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-21T05:04:29Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e50c5bee3f714e8385eb084fb3ef4aba |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0010-440X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-21T05:04:29Z |
| publishDate | 2020-08-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Comprehensive Psychiatry |
| spelling | doaj.art-e50c5bee3f714e8385eb084fb3ef4aba2022-12-21T19:15:09ZengElsevierComprehensive Psychiatry0010-440X2020-08-01101152187Maximizing decision-making style and hoarding disorder symptomsMichael G. Wheaton, PhD0Kimberly Topilow, MA1Department of Psychology, Barnard College, Columbia University, New York, United States of America; Corresponding author at: Barnard College, Columbia University, 3009 Broadway, New York, NY 10027, United States of America.Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology, Yeshiva University, Bronx, New York, United States of AmericaBackground: Past research links hoarding disorder (HD) to indecisiveness and difficulty with decision-making. However, it remains unclear what contributes to difficulty making decisions in HD. Decision-making research suggests that some individuals have a maximizing decision-making style (seeking the best option through an exhaustive search of all existing alternatives) while others “satisfice” (choosing options that are satisfactory even without seeing all options). Past work has linked the dispositional tendency to maximize in decisions to elevated depression, anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) symptoms, but no study has investigated whether maximizing may be relevant for hoarding behaviors. Method: We administered measures of hoarding behaviors, decision-making style (maximizing vs satisficing), generalized difficulty with decision-making (indecisiveness), distress (depression, anxiety and stress symptoms) and OCD symptoms to a sample of community adults (N = 1113) recruited through Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk). Results: The tendency to maximize in decision-making was significantly correlated with hoarding symptoms (including difficulty discarding possessions, excessive acquisition, and clutter). Moreover, regression results showed that maximizing predicted hoarding severity after controlling for indecisiveness, general distress and OCD symptoms. Limitations: We utilized self-report questionnaires in an unscreened community sample. Replication in a clinical sample is needed. Conclusions: The dispositional tendency to maximize in decisions may represent a specific aspect of decision-making relevant for hoarding behaviors. Implications for improving cognitive-behavioral models and treatments are discussed.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0010440X20300298Hoarding disordercluttermaximizationdecision-makingindecisiveness |
| spellingShingle | Michael G. Wheaton, PhD Kimberly Topilow, MA Maximizing decision-making style and hoarding disorder symptoms Comprehensive Psychiatry Hoarding disorder clutter maximization decision-making indecisiveness |
| title | Maximizing decision-making style and hoarding disorder symptoms |
| title_full | Maximizing decision-making style and hoarding disorder symptoms |
| title_fullStr | Maximizing decision-making style and hoarding disorder symptoms |
| title_full_unstemmed | Maximizing decision-making style and hoarding disorder symptoms |
| title_short | Maximizing decision-making style and hoarding disorder symptoms |
| title_sort | maximizing decision making style and hoarding disorder symptoms |
| topic | Hoarding disorder clutter maximization decision-making indecisiveness |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0010440X20300298 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT michaelgwheatonphd maximizingdecisionmakingstyleandhoardingdisordersymptoms AT kimberlytopilowma maximizingdecisionmakingstyleandhoardingdisordersymptoms |