MIT Sloan Management Review Article on Use Your Ambivalence to Make More Ethical Decisions

Decision makers often want to escape the psychological discomfort of ambivalence by making choices as quickly as possible. This is true even for choices that have an ethical component, including those that can involve potential harm or violations of social norms. Decisions that have moral consequences are often dense and require reconciliation of the conflicting interests of multiple stakeholders, as well as more sustained and systematic consideration.

Studies have shown that individuals experiencing ambivalence don’t always correctly identify what is causing that conflicting feeling of positive and negative emotions. This is a missed opportunity. Being conscious of this state, called identified ambivalence, can lead to more effective decision-making, because recognizing uncomfortable mixed reactions allows decision makers to suspend initial judgments and try to understand what is truly causing their cognitive discomfort. In searching for the source, decision makers often find relevant information they overlooked and are able to more thoroughly integrate pertinent and conflicting messages. This targeted searching process is especially critical when making complex ethical decisions.

About the Author

Morela Hernandez is a professor of public policy and business administration at the University of Michigan. Cristiano Guarana (@clguarana) is an assistant professor of business administration at Kelley School of Business at Indiana University. Catherine Owsik is a doctoral student at the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia.

Learn more about MIT SMR.