Hannah Alicia Huffman

Majors: Psychology and Criminology and Criminal Justice

Honors in Psychology

Supervisor: Dr. Hayden O. Kepley

MAXIMIZATION AND ITS EFFECTS ON ANXIETY

This honors project investigates if there are differences between the decision making strategies, maximizing and satisficing, and the ability of them to predict state and trait anxiety, as well as regret. This honors project also looks at how the decision making strategy that is employed affects these three variables in the individual. The current research uses a Maximization and Regret Scale and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) to investigate these relationships. Results showed that there were significant differences between the two decision making strategies when the subjects were classified as either maximizers or satisficers. Maximizers experience more state and trait anxiety than satisficers, as well as more regret with their

decisions.