Decisions, Decisions, Decisions ...

• Position: Psychology

Although powerful people often tend to decide and act quickly, they become more indecisive than others when the decisions are toughest to make, suggests a study in Psychological Science.

Researchers found that, when people who feel powerful also are ambivalent about a decision--torn between two equally good or bad choices--they actually have a harder time taking action than those who feel less powerful. That is different than when powerful individuals are confronted by a simpler decision in which most evidence favors a clear choice. In those cases, they are more decisive and act quicker than others.

"We found that ambivalence made everyone slower in making a decision, but it particularly affected people who felt powerful. They took the longest to act," says psychologist and lead author Geoff Durso.

Fellow psychologist Richard Petty, coauthor of the study, indicates that other research he and his colleagues have done suggests that feeling powerful gives people more confidence in their own thoughts...