Decision Uncertainty

What it measures

A three-item scale measuring the degree to which a consumer experiences difficulty and uncertainty about which option to choose in a decision situation. Items assess expected decision difficulty, uncertainty about the best course of action, and confidence in identifying the optimal choice (reverse-scored). A subscale of the Decisional Conflict Scale developed in health decision making research, the measure has been applied in consumer research to capture the aversive experience of choice uncertainty independently of its cognitive antecedents.

Representative items

• This decision would be hard for me to make.
• I would be unsure what to do in this decision.
• It's clear what choice would be best for me. (r)

Citation

O'Connor, Annette M. (1995). Validation of a decisional conflict scale. Medical Decision Making, 15(1), 25–30. [Applied by: Barasz, Kate and Serena F. Hagerty (2021). I know who you are and I saw what you did: Social media context collapse and moral judgments. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 31(2), 270–290.]