Incremental Validity of Decision-Making Styles in Predicting Real-Life and Work-Related Outcomes

Abstract: Across three studies and three different samples, we investigated whether decision-making styles exhibit incremental validity in predicting various real-life outcomes over and above cognitive abilities and personality traits. In Study 1, we showed that decision-making styles (especially avoidant and spontaneous ones) but not cognitive abilities predict important real-life and academic outcomes in a sample of undergraduate students. In Study 2, on a sample of employed adults, we showed that although the effects of decision-making styles decreased once the effects of personality traits were taken into account, styles nevertheless remained important for several important work-related outcomes. Finally, in Study 3, on a sample of entrepreneurs, decision-making styles generally exhibited stronger correlations with indices of entrepreneurial success and employee work-related attitudes than the need for achievement, a motivational trait that was meta-analytically shown to be one of the essential traits for entrepreneurial success. In sum, we hope that our research program fills the gap in research on individual differences in decision-making, offering evidence that decision-making styles matter for various important real-life outcomes.